Unexpected News
by Alexis Night
Summary: Gaara is enjoying a peacefull day in Suna when he gets a message from the leaf. It's finally his turn to play the hero. Writen because I was sick and tired of a perfectly capable shinobi like Gaara always needing someone to save his butt. GaaNa FRIENDSHP
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: A Message

Hello everyone in the wonderful world of fanfiction! I'm Alexis Night, and this is the first fanfiction I've ever written, and I haven't graduated middle school yet, so I beg you to be nice. XD

Disclaimer: This shouldn't be necessary. If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be on a fanfiction website. The only thing I own is the plotline. (I apologize. Sarcasm runs in the family.)

Gaara looked up at the clear blue sky hanging over the Hidden Sand Village. His eyes brightened as a messenger hawk from Konoha, the village where his best friend, Naruto, lived flew in. A smile met the extremely wise yet young Kazekage's lips as he went to retrieve the message. As he read, his eyes widened in fear.

"Kankuro, Temari!" he called to his older brother and sister. "Pack your things! We're departing for Konoha immediately!"

"What's wrong, Gaara?" Kankuro asked.

"It's Naruto." Gaara's eyes were filled with anger, and both his siblings were thankful he no longer contained Shukaku, even though his capability to control sand remained intact. It was actually very ominous. "He's been captured."

Temari's eyes widened. "The Akatski?" She shrank a little remembering what they had done to her brother.

"I don't know." Gaara's eyes fell. It was Naruto who pulled him from the hell know as loneliness. Naruto who saved him from the Akatski. Now it was Naruto who was suffering.

That was less than an hour ago. Now Gaara and his siblings rushed toward Konoha. He had to admit it was a little reckless, leaving Suna without its Kazekage, but he knew there were good jounin who would protect his people there. Right now all he could think about was protecting his first real friend. Finally, after running and running, they made it to Konoha.

As the trio walked into her office, Tsunade's eyes widened. "Kazekage-sama! You didn't have to come all this way yourself!"

Gaara waved her off. "I appreciate the concern, Hokage-sama, but Naruto is a dear friend of mine. This is an emergency situation, right? If we don't hurry, he could be killed, or worse." Gaara flinched as he remembered the pain the Akatski put him through. "Was it them?"

"No, thank god." Tsunade said, recognizing the sorrow in the other Kage's eyes.

Upon hearing this, Gaara calmed down a bit, and for the first time noticed a small girl crying in the corner with whom was obviously an academy teacher hovering protectively next to her. Gaara walked over and crouched down in front of the child. "What's the matter?" he asked with genuine concern.

The sniffling child looked down. "It's all my fault. Naruto-kun is gone because of me."

Gaara's face creased with worry. He stood up and turned toward the teacher. "What does she mean?"

"My name is Iruka." The shinobi began. "I was Naruto's sensei while he was still an academy student. Every year the student body nominates shinobi they want to come to the academy. Then they vote. This year Naruto won, most likely due to the incident with your village. He was more than happy to comply..."

Iruka's mind took him back to the unfortunate event. All the kids were excited to have a ninja that went from failure to success. It made them all feel like had a chance as shinobi. It had been during the jutsu training that things went downhill. Naruto started off slow. First, he showed them the walk on walls jutsu. Then, the walk on water jutsu. He had just completed the shadow clone jutsu and let the kids train with them a little All the students looked on in surprise as Naruto repeated the shadow clone jutsu, but this time he only made one duplicate of himself.

"And now for the Rasengan." Naruto grinned. "You guys are goanna love this! It was the Fourth Hokage's jutsu." Young faces looked on in awe as Naruto's shadow clone formed the swirling blue chakra in his hand. Just then, there was a rude interruption to the demonstration.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" an unfamiliar voice called. Naruto wheeled around, Rasengan in hand. "You're coming with us. We suggest you go quietly."

'Akatski?' Naruto thought. 'No, they're missing the cloak.'

"In your dreams!" he yelled aloud. "You have perfect timing, actually! Now I can REALLY show these kids Rasengan!"

The academy students all cheered. Then the unthinkable happened.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Naruto turned to see another man holding a knife to the throat of one of the freshman academy girls. He banished his shadow clone and let the Rasengan disappear.

"Alright." Naruto said with a heavy heart. "I'll go with you."

"Good decision." The first man to show up took the box he was carrying off his back and opened it. Naruto stepped forward. Two more men came and the three grabbed him, tying him cruelly tight inside the box. Then they closed it and put a chakra sealing tag on it. When they finished they ran off. The man holding the student stayed long enough to give the others a head start before seemingly vanishing into thin air.

Iruka-sensei looked down. "We were all powerless with a student hostage. The worst part is Naruto probably could've beaten the guys if they hadn't threatened Yukiko."

The girl, Yukiko, shrank. "It's my fault."

Gaara looked at the child with sympathy. "It wasn't your fault at all." Gaara said firmly. "Those were very bad people who came to your school, and Naruto is a very good person. He didn't have to let himself be captured. It was a choice he made because he couldn't live with himself if he let them kill you. I bet right now he's fighting furiously to escape. I don't want to hear any more nonsense about blaming your self. Understand?" The girl nodded and smiled up at Gaara, who smiled in return. "Now why don't you head home? I'm sure you've had a long day." The little girl ran out, obviously reassured.

Kankuro watched as his little brother's face fell. "Are you really so sure, Gaara?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

"No. I wish I could be. Anyway, it's really not that child's fault, so there's no need for her to feel guilty."

"I've assembled a team of Konoha shinobi as well. I just sent Shizune to get them. It will consist of Haruno Sakura, Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, Abrume Shino, and Hatake Kakashi." Tsunade cut in.

"Good idea." Gaara agreed with a nod. He had fought among the leaves many times and he knew their abilities. "That will leave a sensory-type ninja to every three-man cell. We can search in three different directions. It will be very efficient."

"That's the idea." Tsunade replied. We all want to see Naruto again, and we have no clue why they kidnapped him in the first place." Tears fringed the Fifth Hokage's eyes. Everyone stood in silence. None of them could bear the idea of Naruto's dream ending here, after he worked so hard.

Suddenly the door flew open. "WE HAVE ARRIVED WITH THE SWIFTNESS OF YOUTH!" Lee came in followed by the others. He turned his head and was surprised to see Gaara. "GAARA, MY YOUTHFULL FRIEND! I THOUGHT YOU WERE THE KAZEKAGE NOW! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Before Gaara had a chance to respond, Sakura's worry kicked in. "There must be some sort of crisis with the sand village! Right, Tsunade-sama?"

"Not exactly. Naruto's been captured."

Sakura glanced over at Gaara. "The Akatski?"

"No, thankfully." Gaara said. "We still don't know what their purpose is."

"That still doesn't explain why Kazekage-sama of all people is here in Konoha."

Temari spoke softly now, which was pretty out of character, so everyone was careful to listen. "Naruto was Gaara's first friend. Without him, Gaara wouldn't've become Kazekage in the first place. He saved my little brother." A look of determination took over her face, and the old Temari was back. "Now we're going to save him! We don't have time to be standing around like this! Everyone go gather what you need and meet us by the main gate! Scatter!"

The leaf ninja all took off at a break-neck pace, and the sand ninja left behind them at a more leisurely speed. They were just as worried as the others, save for maybe Sakura, but they already had everything they needed, so there was no point to rushing.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" The siblings of the sand looked up to see a boy about their age standing protectively in front of a large dog. "Run home, Akamaru!"

"It's fine." Gaara said, calm and serene. "We're here on Hokage-sama's request."

The boy didn't seem to hear him. He turned to his dog again. "I told you to run, Akamaru! Did you already forget the chunin exams?"

Gaara's eyes widened as his mind flashed back to the chunin exams. He heard the sickening snap as he broke the small puppy's leg with Sand Coffin and the whimpering after. He saw again the angry and pained expression on Kiba's face, and he understood.

"Who do you think you are?" Temari demanded, bringing Gaara completely back to the present. "Gaara is the Kaze-"

Gaara raised his hand. "Enough, Temari. It's my own fault. I'm sorry, and I'm very glad Akamaru is okay."

Gaara walked away and his shocked siblings followed.

"Hey!" Kiba yelled. What's up? It must be important if the Hokage called in another village."

Gaara looked up at Kiba. "Naruto's been kidnapped. We still don't know the intent behind it."

Gaara watched as Kiba's face became a mask of horror. Akamaru paced around and whimpered. Gaara was pleased to see the effect Naruto had on his village. One day he would be Hokage, as long as they could get him back. Kiba jumped on Akamaru's back and they took off at full speed towards the Hokage's office.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello anyone who's actually reading this! (dies from the shock that people are actually reading this) I'm back with the next chapter. This chapter is dedicated to my first reviewer, Battenburg507. Thanks to TigrezzTail as well, who is my only other reviewer. (bows down to probably the only two people who are reading this)

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it?

"Damn it!" Naruto squirmed in the small box. His hands and feet felt kinda funny. These stupid ropes were cutting off his circulation. Naruto tried to turn around to untie his feet with his teeth, but the space was too small. Suddenly, the motion stopped. He felt himself being lifted off the man's back and dropped roughly, yet he still continued to struggle.

"You can relax now. We're here." The man who had been carrying Naruto pulled him out of the box and tossed him to the center of the room. Then four of the men circled around him.

"Four Walls! Chakra Burrier Jutsu!" they exclaimed. Naruto howled in pain.

"I suggest you hold still." one of them said. "If you struggle it injects your chakra with a poison. It's non-lethal, but it hurts like hell. If you get dosed enough it leaves your body in temporary paralysis. You're no good to us like that, now are you?" There was a taunting tone in his captor's voice.

"What do you want with me, anyway?" Naruto demanded.

"What does anyone ever want? Money." The malicious group left the dark room laughing, and Naruto once again began to struggle.

"Good." Gaara said. "Everyone's here. We have three sensory-type ninja, so there will be one per three man squad. Kakashi, Sakura, and Shino will make up one squad. Neji, Tenten, and Lee will be the second. The third will consist of Temari, Kankuro, and myself. Any questions?"

"Ya." Tenten said, a thoughtful look on her face. "Who's your sensory ninja?"

"I can use the sand to scout ahead. If my team finds Naruto, I'll send a ball of sand into the sky. Kakashi is the leader of his team. If you find Naruto send a message with your bugs, Shino. Neji will be his team's leader. Tenten, do you have a flare in one of those scrolls of yours?" She nodded. "Good. If you guys find Naruto shoot it off."

"Ya, I figured. Now are we doing this or not?" Neji tried not to show it, but he seemed amused by Tenten's antics.

"Yes, we are." Gaara replied in a solemn tone. "Scatter!"

After going a good distance from Konoha, Gaara began spreading his sand. The sand siblings continued to move this way with a circle of one square mile encompassing them as they ran. Gaara could see in minute detail every bird in every tree with his sand. Shino's bugs searched miles in their direction while the shinobi themselves searched high and low, leaving no rock unturned. Neji's Byakugan gave him 360 degree vision and, of coarse, Lee being Lee, thy were covering as much ground as if both boys possessed the ocular jutsu.

All three sensory-type ninja stopped, holding a hand out to signal for their friends to pause as well. "I can see them. They're just up ahead."

"Well?" Tenten demanded. "Aren't we going after them?"

Neji nodded. They ran forward on his signal.

"They're in that shack." Shino said. "My bugs found Naruto."

"Well, let's get going!" Sakura said, worry in her eyes.

"Calm down; we need a plan first." Underneath his calm exterior, Kakashi was worried as well.

"There are people in that shack up ahead. I'll make an eye out of sand and find out what's going on." The two eyes in Gaara's head widened.

"Are you alright?" Temari's eyebrows pulled together. Not much could cause the fear in her little brother's eyes. That fear turned to anger. Gaara's fist clenched, destroying the sand eye.

"It's Naruto. They're torturing him."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Kankuro dashed towards the shack.

"Sand Coffin!"

"Leaf Hurricane!"

"Kunai!"

"CHYA!"

"360 palms rotation!"

"...Bugs."

"Ant and Crow!"

"Chidori!"

"Tornado!"

And then it was over. All three sets of shinobi watched as their adversaries fell into piles of dead squirrels with their attacks. Two of the Naruto's fell soon after.

"That would explain the false chakra signatures." Neji kicked himself internally for not telling the difference.

"They were fakes. Someone's got to be close by to control the jutsu, though." Kakashi lifted his headband to reveal his sharingan eye. Shino followed suit and deployed his bugs.

"Naruto, calm down. It's okay. We're here now. We'll get you out."

This Naruto cried out and writhed in agony. "Gaara! Help me! Break the jutsu!" he pleaded. Gaara stepped forward, reaching out, just to have this Naruto turn into a heap of dead squirrels as well. A sadistic chuckle could be heard in the closet in the corner. Gaara whirled around, sand breaking down the closet door and encasing its inhabitant. Only his head remained exposed.

"Where the HELL is Naruto?" Gaara asks this so calmly even his siblings shudder. Gaara's prisoner simply smirks at him. "I'm going to ask you one more time before this gets messy. What the hell did you do with my friend?" When silence was his only response, Gaara clenched his fist, crushing the other man's arm.

"Oh ya!" he yelled. "That's it!"

Gaara's eyes widened before he smacked the heel of his palm on his forehead. 'Great.' he thought. 'Of all the people I got a god damn masochist.' He walked out of the cabin with his sister, brother, and sand containing psychopath following. He quickly signaled the others to head back to Konoha by drawing the village symbol in the air with sand. They all arrived outside the gates of the Leaf Village at about the same time.

"What happened? Who's that?" Sakura questioned.

"I have no clue who he is, but I'm fairly certain he's the caster of that weird squirrel clone jutsu." Gaara replied, heading in.

"Well crush his arm or something! He'll talk!" Sakura was desperate.

"I'm afraid not. I tried that. He's a masochist. He takes pleasure from pain." Gaara's eyes narrowed slightly.

Naruto felt groggy. He could tell they were moving again. He was back in that god awful box. He idly wondered why they bothered tying him up again. He still couldn't move from that toxin. Slowly, Naruto drifted back into darkness.

They walked into Tsunade's office to find her arguing with Kiba.

"Come on! I know Akamaru and I could track Naruto! We know his scent by heart!"

"His feet never touched the ground! They used a seal! Naruto left no traces!" The Hokage's tone softened and her amber eyes fell. "Did you think I wasn't worried too?" Kiba seemed to back off a bit at this.

"Maybe this will help." Gaara said, throwing the prisoner forward, keeping his wrists and ankles bound tightly in sand. "He enjoys pain, so that approach won't work."

"Not a problem. Ino!" Tsunade called. The girl's head poked through the door.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?"

"Go get your father. We have a lead to Naruto's whereabouts." Ino took off at full speed to find the older Yamanaka. Not even two days had passed when he came up with the answer they sought. "Naruto's been sold to the Wandering Ninja."

Gaara's eyes narrowed as Tsunade delivered the news. "Where is he? I'll get Kankuro and Temari and we'll go retrieve him."

Tsunade sighed. "He didn't know. We don't have a where or a why, just a who."

Gaara closed his eyes and sighed. "Do you have any information on the Wandering Ninja?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. They had a run in with Naruto. He defeated their current leader just a little while after his battle with you. He's still a genin because of that." Gaara felt a wave of guilt. "They're a group of ninja without a village. They travel around stealing jutsu from other ninja. We don't where they're currently stationed, and there seems to be no way of tracking them. No one knows who took over after Naruto's encounter."

"Could that be why they took him?" Gaara asked. "Maybe the current leader wants to prove the Wandering Ninja have increased in strength."

Tsunade nodded, deep in thought. "That's a very real possibility. In the meantime I suggest you return to Suna. It's risky to leave your village for too long. I promise you I'll send word the minute we figure something out."

Gaara hesitated. "I agree to an extent. As the Kazekage it's important for me to return to Suna now. However, I refuse to remain idle. I will send out search teams to look for the Wandering Ninja's current base. If I learn anything, I'll report it back to you."

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

Naruto woke up still in the box. He was really sore, but he could move his head back and forth. His hands and feet were getting tingly again. Well this was messed up. He began to struggle again. Then he had an idea. Most people would've thought of it a lot earlier, but let's face it. Naruto's not that bright.

"HELP!"

Disclaimer: (looks at lawyers with shiny black suitcases nervously) Apparently I do have to say it. Naruto does not belong to me. BUT THE SQUIRREL CLONES ARE ALL MINE! (lawyer eye twitch)

That's it for now. Could I have maybe like five people review for this chapter to boost my self confidence that currently is at negative ten million? If not, it's fine. Like I said, I'm fairly convinced only two people are reading this. Thanks guys! Hope you liked it!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I wish.

A/N: I can't resist! I have to say it! My uncle accidentally bought a pregnant hamster and now I get a hamster baby! Random, I know. On a more relevant note, I now figured out how to look at more than just reviews, and now I know I'm on a couple favorites and alert lists, so thanks guys! Any one who has reviewed, alerted, or faved gets a cookie! This chapter is dedicated to my older brother. Now on with the story!

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro finally returned home to Suna. Gaara fell behind a little. His siblings didn't bug him; they knew he needed time to think. And so it was that Gaara found himself wandering around Suna. The Kazekage couldn't escape the plaguing image of the fake Naruto writhing in pain and pleading for his help.

Gaara couldn't stop wondering if they did that to the real Naruto. No, he was sure they did. What purpose did the Wandering Ninja have? Was it revenge? It must have been humiliating to have the head of your village easily defeated by a twelve-year-old. Gaara's glare intensified. Had Naruto already been delivered? What horrors were they putting his already tormented soul through? Was he even alive, or had they already killed him? No. Gaara couldn't think like that. His friend was alive and he was going to find him. Gaara started walking home. He hadn't noticed before, but it was getting dark.

Tsunade was still sitting at her desk, poring over file after file. Everything they had on the Wandering Ninja and everything they extracted from Crazy Squirrel Guy's brain. She was convinced the Wandering Ninja wouldn't go through all the trouble if they only planned on killing Naruto. There had to be something deeper.

Tsunade woke up the next morning still at her desk. She peeked at the clock: 10:00AM. Damn. She had wasted six hours sleeping.

"Hey Tsunade!" Her white-haired teammate from genin days burst into her office.

"Jiriya." she greeted him. "What's up?"

"I've been looking all over the village for him. Did you send Naruto on a mission? When will he be back?"

Crap. Crapity crap crap crap crap. Jiriya was Naruto's ninja master, and he would not take this well. "Sit." Tsunade commanded.

Jiriya knew to obey when she used that tone. He didn't THINK he had done anything to offend her. Jiriya sighed. "What did that idiot do this time and why did it get me in trouble?" He was nervous some of his, eer, habits, had rubbed off on his protégé.

"Nothing. Neither of you have done anything wrong." Her tone softened. Somehow Jiriya trusted this even less. There was a weird feeling in his gut. "He's gone." she whispered.

Jiriya's eyes widened and his hands gripped the arm rests of his chair so tightly you could hear the wood cracking. "You mean to tell me he's... He's dead?" The sanin could barely get the words out. The world would be at a loss without that spiky-haired idiot.

"No. Not dead. Kidnapped. Before you say anything, it wasn't Akatski. If I had to guess information was leaked that Naruto is the Jinchuriki. The village will probably be receiving a ransom demand for our "greatest weapon" any day now. People disgust me."

Jiriya's grip tightened further and splinters of wood flew around the room. "Any idea who the leak might be?"

"If I had to guess I'd say Mizuki. He's still in prison, but he could've spilled it to another inmate whose sentence was up. There's a whole other side to this too, though. The ninja who kidnapped him originally sold him to the Wandering Ninja. Naruto defeated their equivalent of a Hokage when he was still only twelve. Nothing happened during the battle to reveal Naruto as the Jinchuriki host. This could simple be about revenge."

Jiriya stood. "I'm going to have a little chat with Mizuki."

Mizuki had taught at the academy with Iruka, but he wanted power. He tricked Naruto into stealing a scroll. This plan ended with Naruto beating the crap out of a now vengeful Mizuki.

Guy-sensei put a well placed kick to his student's forehead, and his student went sprawling back. There was a red imprint of Guy's sandal on Lee's forehead.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER, LEE? YOUR GUARD'S DOWN!"

"No! I'm fine, Guy-sensei! Let's go again!"

The two fought in a blur of green spandex until Guy once again had his prized pupil down for the count.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER, LEE? YOU NEVER GO DOWN THIS EASILY!"

Lee looked down. "I fear for Naruto-san. Not just his physical well being is at risk while he's with the enemy, but his mental health as well. Everyone is always against him. I'm worried their darkness will leak into his soul."

"YOU ARE ON HIS SIDE, RIGHT LEE?"

"Of course, Guy-sensei!"

"THEN THE POWER OF YOUTH WILL KEEP THE EVIL AT BAY!"  
>"GUY-SENSEI!"<p>

"LEE!"

"GUY-SENSEI!"  
>"LEE!"<p>

The pair burst into tears and hugged as the sunset of youthfulness appeared behind them even though it was twelve 'o clock in the afternoon.

Hiashi, the head of the revered Hyuuga clan and renowned ninja, had no clue what to do. He was completely helpless. Hinata had been waiting in the living room for Neji to return from an emergency mission. Hiashi heard his nephew come in and came to say hello to find Hinata crashing into the couch sobbing. Panic enveloped the usually calm clan head, and he activated his Byakugan to carefully examine the boy. Nothing was wrong with him. Hiashi sat down and hugged his hysteric daughter.

"What happened on that mission? Why won't she stop crying?" he practically whined, which was VERY out of character. The powerful Hyuuga did not do well with tears.

"My mission was to track down the people who kidnapped Uzumaki Naruto and bring him back. We were unsuccessful." Neji bowed his head. He was obviously upset too, but his uncle could handle it as long as there were NO TEARS.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "When that boy returns I will kill him."

"No!" Hinata screamed, sobbing harder and clutching her father's arm. The head of the Hyuuga clan got a sneaking suspicion that some crazed being was causing all this chaos. After calming his daughter and giving his nephew a reassuring pat on the shoulder, he rushed off to find me. (gulps)

Iruka and his class were all silent as the kids threw their shuriken. All of them felt guilty. If they hadn't asked Naruto to come, he wouldn't've been so vulnerable. A girl threw her shuriken with perfect accuracy every time. She wondered why she hadn't tried anything on the man that was holding Yukiko. They were all here for ninja training, weren't they?

School was finally out for the day, and Iruka decided to take a walk around Konoha. Eventually he found himself outside Naruto's apartment. Iruka gently pushed the door open.

"Naruto, how many times have I told you to lock your door?" he scolded gently. Naruto had always been like a son to Iruka. He would die to protect him. If only those people hadn't used such dirty tricks! Once Naruto made up his mind to go with them, there was no stopping it. Iruka padded quietly into the tiny apartment as if trying not to wake someone.

"Naruto, this place is a pig sty. You need to take care of yourself." Iruka cleaned Naruto's apartment, then settled in on his couch and began correcting papers. He was pleased to see the answers to the last question: Who is a ninja that inspires you? For various reasons, they all chose Naruto.

Shikamaru and Choji sat by the logs at the training grounds, strategizing.

"Altight." Shikamaru said. "We know the Wondering Ninja don't have an actual village, but they have to have some sort of base of operations. Considering the fact that they hired other people to abduct him, they know we'll be going after Naruto, so they'll take him someplace a leaf ninja would never go, or is forbidden to go. Other ninja villages are out, because the Wandering Ninja would be no more welcome than we would."

Choji chomped on his chips thoughtfully. "Maybe it's in a country we're not allied with, somewhere close to a village?"

Shikamaru thought for a minute. "No. The ninja of that village would have a patrol. They run too big a risk of being caught and brought in."

Choji's head snapped up as he got another idea. "Maybe they took him someplace we don't even know about!"

Shikamaru once again looked up to the all-knowing clouds before answering. "Possible, but unlikely. We have very complete maps. This is so troublesome!" Shikamaru fell back to the grass, looking at the shifting clouds, still deep in thought.

Kakashi's one visible eye looked exhausted. He hadn't slept since Naruto's disappearance. He sighed and sat down at Ichiraku's. The jounin had just returned from surveying the last known whereabouts of his student. He found himself ordering two bowls; one his favorite and one Naruto's.

"Any news?" the old man who ran the shop asked.

"We know who took him. It was a group called the Wandering Ninja. But, as their name implies, they're nomads. No one knows their current whereabouts." The shopkeeper's daughter delivered the two bowls with a worried look on her face. Kakashi began to eat his and pushed the other over to Naruto's usual seat. Kakashi finished his own bowl and left the other, hoping that if it waited there long enough, Naruto would come find it. Of course, he didn't.

Sakura and Ino sat up in Ino's room, armed with ice cream.

"You like him." Ino said, breaking the silence.

"Excuse me?" Sakura was puzzled.

"Naruto. You like him. It's there, now, in your eyes. You're even more worried than when you talk about Sasuke."

"That's because with Sasuke we know there's time to find him. We know exactly what Orochimaru wants and how long it will take him to achieve it. With Naruto, we just don't know."

Ino nodded. "I get it." She wondered silently how long it would take Sakura to stop lying to herself. Just then the door to Ino's house creaked open. The girls rushed down the stairs and swarmed Mr. Yamanaka.

"Dad! Anything new?" Mr. Yamanaka looked down to meet pleading eyes.

"Only frustration. We've hit a wall. He knew he would likely be captured in his task. Crazy Squirrel Guy doesn't know any details that we didn't already know. Don't worry. Naruto's strong. He'll be okay." The father wasn't quite as sure as he seemed, but he didn't want to make the girls worry. The two went back to their ice cream and continued to discuss current depressing events.

Naruto sat against a tree, not having much choice in the matter. He was tied very securely to the trunk. His mouth was starting to hurt from being dry. Yelling for help had only succeeded in getting him gagged. He looked up at the moon, pleading. The more he struggled, the tighter the ropes seemed to get, and without the use of his hands, he was also without the use of his jutsu.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to anyone who reviewed! They make self-conscious thirteen-year-olds-happy! Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto and Sasuke still defected, I would be grounded for life. My mom is a total Sasuke fangirl.

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my mom in hopes that she won't kill me for calling her a fangirl, even though it's totally true... X-X

Gaara sighed, looking out the window. It was getting late. He went up and sat on the roof like he had many sleepless nights with Shukaku and looked at the moon. It didn't bring him the same comfort as usual, however. Instead he grew increasingly uneasy. Those nights before with Shukaku whispering tails of blood and sorrow in his ear, making him yearn for it; the moon had kept him sane. It made him feel less attached, so why now did it only bring thoughts of Naruto, one of the very few people he let close to him? Why now did it abandon him, and make him feel only worse? Maybe it was because his first and closest friends had admitted to the Kazekage that he, too, on a day when the villagers had been particularly cold and heartless, would sit and watch the moon, feeling disconnected from the cruel, cruel world that surrounded them.

Gaara stood and headed to his room. Sleep. That beautiful escape that eluded him for the first fifteen years of his life. That was the first night Gaara had a dream. At least, that's what he thought it was. As he later discovered, it was a nightmare. It was a horrible experience, and, for the first time in his life, he wished him and Naruto hadn't talked as much as they did. If they hadn't, Gaara's mind wouldn't have so much to torment him with.

Gaara stood, clutching tightly to his teddy bear. He was five again. At first everything seemed pleasant. People didn't shy away from him. Everyone wan nice to him, not offering things to him in fear that he would kill them, but in genuine kindness. He noticed that he was surrounded by grass and trees. That meant he wasn't in his village, but he was fine with that.

Suddenly, everyone's kind fronts disappeared as a blond boy with eyes of blue filled with the deepest of suffering walked into sight. Everyone quieted and turned away. Some kids ran by and threw rocks at the tiny frame, who cringed in pain as bruises appeared. Gaara yelled at these people, finally realizing exactly where he was and who the boy standing before him was. The people around him could no longer hear him, though.

Gaara settled on going and playing with Naruto so he wouldn't be lonely, but he discovered in dismay that his friend couldn't hear him either. Gaara followed and could do nothing but watched as Naruto was ridiculed, ignored, and abused all the way back to his small apartment. Once there he watched as Naruto pulled medical supplies out of the closet to bandage the cuts he had received. He was well practiced, Gaara noticed with a frown. Naruto wasn't worried because he was always a fast healer, even if it did sting.

When he was finished the job a mother or father should do, Naruto headed to his room, sat on his bead, and just cried. Finally just cried. Gaara walked over, sat on the bed, and attempted to wrap his arms around his friend, only to fall right through like some sort of ghost. As much as he wanted to help, there was nothing he could do as his friend rocked back and forth whispering over and over again, "Why me?" in some sort of broken mantra.

Time skipped forward. Gaara was standing next to Naruto as he took his exam to graduate The Ninja Academy. He looked on at Naruto, who could make thousands of perfect copies of himself, astonished as a half-recognizable blob appeared next to the blond. Naruto did not become a genin. He sat on the swing sadly, Gaara watching on feeling completely helpless. Two women looked over in Naruto's direction.

"Good thing he didn't graduate." one said without a shred of pity.

"Ya." the other replied. "Can you imagine if he became a ninja? The-"  
>"Shhh!" the first woman scolded her. "That's taboo!"<p>

Gaara was enraged. Not only did they treat Naruto like he was less than human, but it was forbidden for him to know why. Gaara fell to his knees as his friend looked down like a kicked puppy from the harsh words. There was absolutely nothing he could do.

Later, Naruto was on his was to drown his sorrows in his favorite ramen when a silver-haired chunin approached him.

"Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto cried in surprise.

"Hey kid." The man, Mizuki, had a gleam in his eye that Gaara didn't trust. "Let's talk."

Gaara watched, eyes narrowing in suspicion, as Mizuki told Naruto about a scroll. He told him if he learned the jutsu, Iruka-sensei would let him pass. The academy teacher had Naruto promise to meet him deep in the woods; he would help him learn the jutsu. Gaara was getting nervous. Naruto was a very trusting, caring person, and he was eating all the lies the chunin fed him. Gaara wasn't very trusting, and he caught the malicious intent in the man's posture. That night, Naruto stole the scroll. Gaara yelled and screamed. He tried to grab onto Naruto, but he was still so powerless. It was unfamiliar, and it was scary.

Gaara was torn away from Naruto for the first time. The village was rioting. The people wanted Naruto dead. Mizuki was there along with the other ninja. The Third Hokage ordered his shinobi and kunoichi to find Naruto and bring him back, but not to kill him. Gaara was relieved.

The very next moment Gaara was in the woods watching Naruto of all people diligently studying the forbidden scroll. Soon, the stupid, shameless, Mizuki showed up. He instructed the idiot before him to hand the scroll to him. Naruto wasn't paying much attention, chattering about the amazing jutsu detailed on the paper in his hands, but someone was. Iruka-sensei appeared. He was very upset that his long-time friend could use his prized (even if clinically stupid, hence the perfect target) student.

Iruka told Naruto to give him the scroll and run. Gaara let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. With a skilled shinobi to protect him, Naruto would be fine. Unfortunately, the conniving ninja was without limits. He told Naruto that, in truth, Iruka hated him. He was the nine-tailed demon fox that killed his parents, after all. Poor Naruto was very confused; it had been taboo in the village. Then, while the gears in Naruto's mind were turning, Mizuki threw the giant shuriken strapped to his back at the small boy. Gaara yelled at Naruto to look out and tried to shield him with sand, but even that wasn't listening to him.

Thankfully, Iruka was there. He dove in front of Naruto, and the shuriken bore into his back rather than his student's chest. Naruto was ecstatic that Iruka cared about him, but more that, he was outraged someone would dare hurt his precious sensei.

'Naruto's first precious person...' Gaara thought in awe.

For the first time in his life, Naruto made that famous ex with his hands. Thousands of Naruto's surrounded Mizuki and proceeded to beat the crap out of him.

Oh, god, no! Anything but this! Time had once again shifted. All over again Gaara suffered the pain of having his biju extracted. At the end when he should've been dead a tiny consciousness remained. Worse than the pain he experienced was the conversation he overheard afterwards.

People were coming to save the one-tails, and among them was the nine-tails. The blond one, Deidara, apologized rather insincerely to Itachi and Kisame, saying he was going to have to take their prey. The leader ordered Itachi to tell the two how to identify the target. Itachi explained that he would be, "...the first to start screaming at you."

The gathering ended and Deidara plopped down on Gaara's body just as the door to the cavern opened. As predicted, Naruto immediately started screaming at Gaara to get up and at Deidara to get off him. Deidara was determined to take yet another Jinchuriki and, noticing how badly Naruto wanted Gaara back, carried him off in an attempt to lure Naruto away from the other ninja. Kakashi, seeing through the ploy, followed Naruto. The two fought hard and, in the end, Naruto brought Gaara back along with Granny Chio.

Gaara was alone now. All the children in the village had run away again. All he wanted to do was play. The young red head clutched his teddy bear tightly. His bear wouldn't run away from him. Never. Then a small boy with hopeful blue eyes came up to him holding a ball.

"Hey! Want to play with me?" he asked. Gaara followed, and the two boys played catch all day.

Then some vicious men appeared and grabbed Naruto.

"Help me, Gaara!" he pleaded. Those eyes dropped all hope and filled completely with fear. Gaara couldn't stand it.

"Stop!" Gaara yelled. "Stop!" He ran after them, but they just kept getting farther and farther away. It didn't seem like he was moving at all.

"Gaara! Help me! Gaara! Gaara!"

"Gaara! Gaara, are you alright?" Naruto's panicked voice finally gave way to his older sister's worried one. She hugged him tight. Kankuro stood a little ways back with a concerned look on his face. "Your first nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nightmare?" Gaara asked, his pulse still racing. "Is that what those horrible pictures in my mind were called?"

"Yes, but it won't always be like that. You can have dreams too; dreams are nice." Temari explained. "You poor thing." she cooed in a very un-Temariish fashion. "Most of us get our first nightmares when we're still little, but to get it at fifteen must be horrible."

"I'm useless." Gaara whimpered, the foreign quiver of fear mixed with sadness in his voice. "Horrible. Useless. I'm useless." Gaara rocked back and forth, hugging his knees.

Kankuro sat on the edge of Gaara's bed with Temari. "It must've been pretty bad to get you like this, little bro'. Was it about the Akatski?" His eyes narrowed. Gaara was HIS little brother, damn it! If he ever got his hands on one of those stupid rouge ninja...

"Partly, yes." Gaara admitted, calming down a bit with his siblings there. "More centered around Naruto, though. My mind was playing through everything he told me about when he was a kid. All I could do was watch. Then he saved me from the Akatski after all the times I failed him. Then we were little kids. Everyone abandoned me, but Naruto offered to be my friend. Then some vicious-looking men came and took him. He begged me to help him, but all I could do was yell and watch. He looked so scared. I was completely useless." Gaara's head fell into his hands, but then he lifted it up and looked at his two siblings. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." He looked ashamed of the weakness he just displayed, but there was something else Temari and Kankuro saw. Gaara thought they were going to leave him alone again because of it.

Temari hugged him again. "We love you, Gaara. We're not going anywhere. You don't have to worry about showing us you fears and problems. We want to help you. "

Kankuro grasped Gaara's shoulder. "Ya. You can't get rid of us that easily. I'm your big brother, Gaara. It's my job to watch out for you. I screwed that up for the first twelve years of your life, and I have no intentions of screwing it up now."  
>Gaara looked at his siblings in awe. He never knew they cared that much about him. No one slept that night in Kazekage Tower. Instead, the three siblings talked, sharing things with each other that they never had before.<p>

"I figured it out." Gaara said, rather unexpectedly.

"Figured what out?" The look of knowing behind her little brother's eyes made her curious.

"Why I worry about Naruto so much. He's... He's... It's confusing. But I feel the same ache when he's hurt that I do when Kankuro gets wounded."

Needless to say, Gaara's elder brother wasn't expecting that. "It bothers you when I get hurt?"

"Of course." Gaara said. He looked hurt. "You're my brother. I... I..."

Temari sighed. "Our emotionally deprived younger brother is trying to tell you he loves you, just like we love him."

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm trying to do. And the only difference with Naruto and Kankuro is that I fight with Naruto less."

"That's because he's your best friend." Temari explained. "You choose your friends, but not your relatives. Siblings have a natural closeness, but personalities tend to clash, and you're with each other more, so you fight more often."

Gaara digested this onslaught of social information before giving Temari a confused look. "Then why don't we fight?"

"Because I'm your awesome big sister!"

...I LOVE MY BIG BROTHER! I'm going to go bother Evan. Hope you enjoyed! SIBLING FLUFF FOREVER XDDDDD


	5. Chapter 5

I'm back. Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Disclaimer: If Naruto was mine, it would only run during the summer. I love school, don't get me wrong, but TOO MUCH WORK!

Dedication: To my school because, in our unending awesomeness, we won middle school of the year! Also dedicated to the fact that there are only seven days left this school year! XD

Naruto looked up from the tree he was still tied to as he heard footsteps approaching the small camp. The men put down their food, none of which they had given Naruto, and went to investigate

'Maybe it's the leaf!' the desperate boy thought. 'Maybe I'm saved! Kakashi-sensei must be looking for me!' Naruto's hopes were brutally murdered as his captors returned leading two more men. Naruto would never admit it, but he was terrified. What if he never made it home? What if he was brought here simply so these people could kill him? His eyes widened as the two new men approached him. Naruto's usual optimism would not help him out of this situation. He hadn't slept or eaten in three days, and he was tied extremely tightly. No amount of badassness could make this situation okay.

One of the men kneeled down in front of Naruto. He ran his fingers along the whisker marks on either side of the Jinchuriki's face. Naruto jerked away from the contact, only to have his face held firmly to keep him in place. The man seemed satisfied.

"You've done well." He handed the people who took Naruto a suitcase. They proceeded to count the money.

'Common thugs.' Naruto thought. 'If it wasn't for their underhanded tricks I would be home and they would be either dead or in prison. Of course, I'd be annoyed as hell by all the chaos that would cause, but it's got to be better than this.'

Gaara heard a knock at his office door. "Come in." he called.

"Sorry to interrupt, Kazekage-sama, but we need to put the new genin teams together."

Gaara frowned. He knew his normal kage duties would come up, but he really wished something so time-consuming didn't have to come up NOW of all times. "I'd like to meet them first. Can this be arranged?"

"Of course; we can go now if you want."

"Excellent."

It really was a fine group of genin this year. When Gaara was done, he felt he had the most well-balanced teams possible. He sat down at his desk and sighed, leaning back in his chair.

'Think, Gaara, think!' he thought. Then he noticed the irony in the fact that he was thinking at himself to think when the time spent thinking about thinking could be used to think productive thoughts. 'FOCUS!' he screamed mentally.

"Naruto was kidnapped by the Wandering Ninja." Gaara pulled out the information Tsunade gave him on the offenders. "They could've taken Naruto to take vengeance. Their ultimate goal is to establish a ninja village. It could also be to blackmail the leaf. Konoha is an extremely powerful village. If Konoha backed the Wandering Ninja, they would have a much easier time moving up in the world. If that were the case, however, why take one of the most, no THE most, powerful ninja the village had?" A horrifying realization dawned on Gaara. "The Jinchuriki exist to keep a power balance between the villages and prevent a Fourth Great Ninja War. If they ultimately want to become a ninja village they could've taken him to enter that balance. Those BASTARDS!"

Gaara's door creaked open. "Gaara." Temari called softly. "Please go to bed. You haven't slept in days. Shukaku is gone. Your body can't take this kind of abuse anymore."

Gaara looked up at her, fear in his eyes. "But if I go to bed I'll have another nightmare, and every minute wasted sleeping is another minute Naruto is suffering."

Temari sat on her brother's desk. "We're worried about him too, Kankuro and I. We're both so grateful for how much he helped you, but it's no use doing this. Naruto would want you to take care of yourself."

"Naruto will probably never admit this, but what he's going through now is really scary. I never thought I'd admit it either, but being taken suddenly from everything you know and subjected to whatever these strangers see fit is horrifying. There's a feeling of being powerless and worthless; not a feeling Naruto will take well. Who knows what physical and mental pain he could be going through?" Gaara winced remembering the all-but-peaceful death he had.

Temari made a mental note to kick Akatski ass later. "Gaara, there's nothing you can do if you can't even think straight. Get a goodnight's sleep and come back to it in the morning. You'll be able to help Naruto better when you're fully alert."

Gaara nodded his head and allowed his older sister to lead him to his bedroom. She only left once her little brother had drifted into a mercifully dreamless sleep.

Gaara walked into the dining room. "I figured it out."

Kankuro gave a tired yawn. "Figured what out?"

"How to lure them out!" Gaara was more animated than he had ever been in his entire life; his siblings were intrigued.

Jiryia sighed. Mizuki was pretty tough to crack. "I'll ask you again. What do you know about Naruto's disappearance?" Toad stomach acids burnt into Mizuki's skin. Jiryia was the Toad Sage of Konoha. No one messes with his student and gets away with it. After hearing the set-up his prisoner had pulled poor Naruto into as a kid, he would've been happy to pound him into oblivion.

"Alright." Mizuki conceded. You don't stand up to master Jiryia. "There was a cell-mate a couple years ago. We talked. Naturally, we both wanted to know what the other was in for. We found out we were both taken down by the same annoying brat. He said something seemed strange about him. I told the guy about the fox. He was released a month ago."

Jiryia released the jutsu, returned the offending ex-shinobi to the prison guards, and set out in search of more information.

"This is brilliant!" Tsunade exclaimed when she finished reading Gaara's letter.

"What is it?" asked a very stressed and tired Shizune who had been searching for Naruto with ANBU team in case he was in need of medical assistance. Of course, they found nothing. Tsunade handed Shizune the letter.

Dear Lady Hokage,

I believe I thought of a way to find Naruto. All we need is the correct bait. According to the information you gave me, the heinous group responsible for Naruto's kidnapping searches for jutsu to steal from other villages. I will have rumors spread about a powerful new jutsu in the sand which, of course, does not actually exist. I doubt the people who come to investigate will have Naruto with them, but they should at least have a vague idea of where he is.

I have also thought of a use for the garbage I dragged in on the day of the horrible incident.

Shizune took note that the seemingly emotionally-detached Gaara seemed very bothered by the current situation. She continued reading.

You had your ninja scanning his tiny brain specifically for information on the Wandering Ninja, but the man in your custody probably knows the whereabouts of the other hired thugs. I will inform you the minute I get any information. And I would appreciate if you did the same.

There was a spot of ink where Gaara had hesitated.

Naruto is my best friend.

Sincerely,

Gaara, Kazekage of the Sand

After Shizune shook off the shock of the last line, she too recognized the brilliance.

"Get me Inoichi Yamanaka." Tsunade commanded.

Gaara's ANBU shifted nervously before him. He had killed many of their strongest while he was still just a kid, but to be fair they WERE trying to kill him...

"You will need to take off your masks for this mission." Gaara explained in his usual soft voice. The ANBU all did as they were told. "You will spread out, even beyond the borders of Wind Country. You will be spreading rumors about a new and powerful jutsu in Suna. This jutsu is purely fictional. Disguise yourselves as civilians."

"Excuse me, sir." a particularly brave ANBU interjected. "What is the purpose of this mission?"

We are trying to draw out an infamous group of ninja who are currently holding a Leaf Shinobi."

"Isn't that Konoha's problem?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "We are allied with Konoha. They came to our aid when Akatski attacked. The ninja this group has taken, Uzumaki Naruto, saved my life. Do you wish to further question my judgment?"

The ANBU did NOT like the implications that statement held. "My apologies, Kazekage-sama. We will leave immediately."

Gaara gave a curt nod and dismissed them.

XD Hurray for Gaara's brilliance! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm so far ahead of you guys in my notebook! See you next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT!

Hi guys. I would like to apologize twice. First, I profusely apologize for updating so late. I have no valid excuse. It's the first week of my summer vacation, and I simply got lazy. Secondly, I would like to apologize because this is the last you will hear from me for two weeks. I'm going to a creative writing program at Stanford University. I'm a little ahead of you guys in my notebook, so I'd appreciate it greatly if, even if you don't typically review, you could drop me a line when you think the post-Stanford written chapters start. I want to see how much of a difference it makes. Also, could you guys let me know where you're finding my story? I'm fairly sure I'm not in any communities, and I don't know how to see stories that aren't... This chapter is dedicated to my English teacher, Ms. Fosher, because I'm really goanna miss her in eighth grade.

Disclaimer: If Naruto were mine, Gaara would be in WAY more episodes.

Shizune walked into Tsunade's office with the first smile she had worn in weeks. "We found the hideout!" Shizune handed Tsunade a piece of paper explaining how to get there from Konoha.

The Hokage looked to her friend, amber eyes determined. "Get me Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi, and Jiryia."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune hurried off to the academy. Iruka would be the easiest to find.

Iruka stood before his class, face solemn. "We all know what happened last month, but you need to have a plan ahead of time, such as if it's a situation that could be anticipated ahead of time on a mission, or you need to be able to improvise quickly. Typically, this is something you work on with your genin teams, but in light of the situation, it's been that this is an important skill for you to learn now. First, we will be going out with the other classes and recreating the incident. Then, we will stop at the point where things started going downhill and brainstorm ways the situation could be diffused. Everybody line up by threes, please."

After they filed outside, Iruka stood with the girl who was used as a hostage when Naruto was taken. "Alright, kids. If we could've freed Yukiko, Naruto likely would've taken care of the rest. What could we have done?"

That was when Shizune arrived. "Iruka-san, Tsunade-sama has a mission for you regarding Naruto's kidnapping."

Iruka's eyes held fierce intensity. "Shikamaru, I need you to take over my class indefinitely. Shikamaru gave a quick "Troublesome", but there were no real protests.

"I'll meet you back at Hokage Tower. When your entire team is there, Tsunade-sama will tell you exactly what's going on."

Iruka sped towards the Hokage Tower, and what promised to be their first link to the blond-haired student he had grown to love, while Shizune headed toward the memorial stone. That was the first place anyone who knew him would look for Kakashi. He still felt guilty for the death of his teammates. She found him sitting there with a bowl of ramen, which was slightly surprising because Kakashi's diet was usually very well-balanced.

"Naruto." He murmured. "You'd better not join the names on this stone. We'll find you. Just hold on."

"Kakashi!" Shizune said, bringing him back to reality. "Tsunade-sama has a mission for you regarding Naruto."

"Thank you!" The renown copy ninja sped off to Hokage Tower.

Shizune sat on the memorial stone and sighed. Even Jiriya wouldn't be at the hot springs at a time like this, but that was the only place anyone knew to look for him. This was completely impossible. Suddenly, a just of wind knocked a plethora of leaves from the trees. They swirled around the memorial stone and landed on it so the only name left showing was "Namikaze Minato, Fourth Hokage". Then the leaves swirled off into the woods, keeping together in a stream of swirling green.

Shizune followed swiftly. "Lord Hokage. Are you trying to help your son, even in death?"

Finally, they led her to a small clearing where the leaves dissipated and drifted gently to the forest floor, revealing Jiryia. He was standing with his back towards her, facing a slow-moving river. He had one of those popsicles that you split in half and share with another person, untouched and dripping into nothingness as the person the other half was meant for never came.

"Jiryia-sama. It's about Naruto. There's a lead. Tsunade-sama has summoned you." Jiryia ran faster than the eye can follow to meet the others. Shizune stayed, staring at the forest, marveling at the wonder that just occurred.

Naruto sat, still chained to the wall, though at this point both his legs and three of his fingers were broken, and he was completely covered in cuts and bruises.

"How many times do I have to say it?" The man's voice was laced with what sounded like genuine concern, but the small smile tugging at his lips told the fox boy otherwise. "All you have to do is relinquish the Leaf, and all your suffering will soon as you accept us, we will accept you. None of the prejudices you had to suffer before will be aimed at you here, and you will no longer be considered a prisoner."

Naruto knew what that meant. His dry throat ached for water, and his stomach begged for food. His wrists were red and raw, and one of his broken legs was beginning to heal out of place.

"All I have to do," he croaked out, "is the one thing I'll NEVER do. Now matter what you do to me, I will never betray the friends I've made."

The man's eyes narrowed. "I'll ask you one more time, for I wish this decision to be of your own free will. Join us, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto let out a shaky laugh. "Free will? You'd call anything I do right now free will? The only thing I have control over right now is my loyalty to my village and my friends, and that will never brake."

"Very well. You leave me no choice." The room was flooded with people. Naruto was unchained, rechained, and carried off to some new unknown horror. Eve the best couldn't fight in his state, though we all know he tried.

"It's very simple." Tsunade explained. "The other members of Crazy Squirrel Guy's team planned on retrieving him. They thought we would put more of our recourses into finding Naruto than guarding the prisoner once we realized he didn't have the information we sought. The enemy underestimated the sheer number of shinobi at out disposal. The three of you," she gestured to Jiryia, Kakashi, and Iruka, "will go to the hideout on this map and retrieve the others involved." Tsunade handed the map to the toad sage. "Be careful. I know you think Naruto could've easily won, Iruka, but it's better to overestimate an opponent than to underestimate one." The three men nodded. "It's going to be a three day journey, so pack everything you may need! Go! And bring back some information!"

The three elite ninja ran off at top speed to prepare for what they all considered to be the most important mission of their lives.

Not long after, the three men met at the northern gate. It was the first time since Obito died that Kakashi was on time. They set off in silence. They all had the same reason to be their; Naruto was very dear to them all. Jiryia had been Naruto's father's teacher. Minato had made him Naruto's godfather, and now the boy was like his grandson. Kakashi had been Minato's student. The last promises he made to his sensei was that he would protect his son to his dying breath. Iruka had practically adopted Naruto when he was at the academy. Naruto was like a son to him.

When the sun set and the three finally had to stop, the worried pace they were moving at already had them half way to the hideout. Jiryia built a fire pit, and Iruka got the wood in place; Kakashi lit it with the Fireball Jutsu he borrowed from Sasuke.

"He must be scared." Iruka said, looking down into the bowl of ramen he made. He and Naruto had a tradition of going to get ramen at least once a month. Today was the day they were supposed to go.

"Don't worry. Naruto's not your helpless little academy student anymore. He's probably already thought of a plan." Kakashi said, looking up from his infamous orange book.

Iruka sighed. "I know. We went over this before the chunin exams. I know Naruto is strong, I still say he could've won that fight, but I alto watched him get tied tight enough to cut off circulation and shoved in a box half his size! How is he supposed to fight like that?" There was fire in the academy teacher's eyes. Anyone who had suffered as much as Naruto did didn't deserve any more pain.

Jiryia looked up from writing the future Kakashi's infamous orange book. "You're both wrong. Naruto's a fighter, but he's probably been drugged or mutilated by now. If we don't find him soon, they may not leave enough for him to fight with. We don't know their intent, so we can't guarantee his safety."

The three men sat in solemn silence for a while. Iruka finished eating and Jiryia took first watch of the night while the others tried to sleep.

As soon as the sun came up, Naruto's mentors were once again rushing through the trees. They didn't slow until three stomachs simultaneously complained of the lack of food. Iruka pulled out three rice balls meant for quick consumption. Kakashi somehow managed to ingest his in the split second the other two shinobi weren't looking. Jiryia and Iruka sweat-dropped, then they were once again moving through the morning forest faster than the non-ninja eye could see.

"Alright." The sanin said, sticking out his arm as a signal for the other two ninja to stop. "We're about a mile away from the enemy hideout now." He pulled out a map and a pen. "I'm the toad, Kakashi is the dog, and Iruka is the throwing star. We'll approach from these three areas. It's best to have them surrounded and block the exits."

The five men let out obnoxious, bellowing laughs. "We're rolling in money!" one of them cried.

Suddenly, the door burst from its hinges. Four of them were dead, and one was left alone by the cruel hand of fate to face the three steely-faced ninja. "Hey! What's all this about?" His face took on the expression of someone who thought he was goanna smooth talk his way out of something. "Let's talk! I'm sure this is a HUGE misunderstanding!"

The one with the white hair and the weird forehead-protector picked him up by the color of his shirt and slammed him into a wall. "And I'm sure you're a lying piece of crap! Now where's my godson?"

"And my student!" demanded a man with a scar across the bridge of his nose.

"And my sensei's son!" added a man with a mask and a hata-atai covering all but one furious eye.

"Calm down!" He was getting desperate. This was a man who valued his life. "There's no way I could know all those people, and I'd never dream of hearting anyone! Please! I'm an honest man!"

"It's one person." the man who currently had him trapped explained. "A loud-mouth blond. Ringing any bells?" He was pushed even harder against the wall. You could literally hear the click as he took in the symbol on the two ninja who weren't currently breaking his rib's hata-atais.

'Oh, shit.'

Naruto's three sensei's took turns dragging the bag of trash over painful objects like rocks and sticks all the way to the Hokage's office, where Iruka gleefully dragged it up the stairs.

"Tsunade." Jiryia greeted his old teammate. "I'm sure he's ready to talk now." The Toad Sage pointed to the bloody sack Iruka was dragging.

Tsunade nodded. "Let's hear it, then."

Kakashi took the bag and dumped it out, revealing a sad excuse for a man covered in cuts and bruises. His wrists were died crimson from the blood caused by the much too tight bindings. Ya, they got sweet revenge. "Talk." the Copy Ninja ordered.

Ya! The wrath of the senseis is a scary thing. XD See you guys in two weeks! Wish me luck!


	7. Chapter 7

Hey there. I'm back from my trip. I have to say, I was kind of depressed when I came back. My last chapter had one review. If I don't have any reviews at all on a chapter, I'm probably goanna think no one's reading this anymore and end it. Thought I'd give fair warning in case my inevitable failure hasn't kicked in yet and I just didn't get a lot of reviews last chapter.

In light of all this, this chapter is dedicated to the reader who kept it going for at least one more chapter: TigrezTail. Love the name, by the way!

Naruto was strapped down to a cold, hard metal table. Someone cut off his shirt, and he flinched as his back made direct contact with the icy surface.

A sadistic laugh filled the air. "That's only the beginning!" More cold metal bit into Naruto's chest in the form of a kunai, spelling out 'KYUUBI' in deep gashes. 'MONSTER' was carved into his rib cage. 'DEMON' and 'KILLER' were added the same way. Naruto knew it wouldn't help, but he couldn't keep from crying out in pain.

"Did I mention the kunai was poisoned?" his tormentor casually questioned, as if commenting on the weather. Naruto gave a small whimper of fear. "This is what you've been." The man with the kunai now glittering with the young teen's blood carved one more poisonous word into his forehead: 'SLAVE'. "This is what you are now."

Naruto could feel what each word was from the biting pain. He laid there, crying in the darkness, as the poison spread agonizingly through his body.

Gaara rushed to meet the messenger hawk just as she came in. He hurriedly broke the seal and read the letter.

Dear Kazekage Gaara,

Thanks to Naruto's senseis and your intel, we know we know where he was last seen, though we still don't know why they took him. The people hired to carry out the abduction had no clue he was the Kyuubi vessel, but that doesn't mean anything. The place they... sold Naruto is closer to Suna. Please send some people to investigate. Making the love kanji in your sand on the back of this letter will reveal a map.

Thank you,

Tsunade

Gaara saw the spots and blurred ink from where the Hokage's tears fell. She was hard on Naruto, but he reminded her of her little brother. Gaara gathered his siblings and they departed immediately.

Tsunade was right. Naruto's last known whereabouts were less than a day's run. Gaara walked around the small campsite while his brother and sister stood guard. There was evidence of a campfire and a small patch of grass where growth was hindered. The Kazekage was getting suspicious. His friend had been missing for a little over two months, but it looked like the site had been used just that day. Suddenly he saw a silver flash from Kankuro's direction. Someone was coming. He quickly shot a signal to Temari, then waited in the trees with his siblings, waiting for whoever was approaching.

One of the people had a map out. His companion was yelling at him. "What are you doing? This isn't Suna! You've been leading us in circles all day!"

Another man came out of the bushes. "Calm down. We're not expected back with the jutsu for another week at least. We're way ahead of schedule." The man holding the map gave a grateful look. That was enough for the siblings to know who was in charge. Gaara's sand came down and immediately imprisoned him. Kankuro and Temari made short work of the other two.

The shinobi woke up with a pair of sea-foam eyes glaring daggers at him. The man was fairly short, but he carried an air of authority that made him seem intimidating none the less.

"Where. Is. Naruto." His glare intensified slightly with each word the redhead spoke. The prisoner briefly wondered if his hair was such a shocking shade of crimson because it was stained with the blood of his past victims. Bad thoughts when you are clearly being interrogated. Unless of course that meant certain death whether or not information was put forward.

"I believe I asked you a question." Gaara didn't have any patience when this began, and now he was down to about negative ten patience points.

"If I give you information, will I live?"

"I'm going to ask you one more time before this gets painful. Where. Is. Naruto." Gaara was not interested in playing games, because every minute he remained idol was another minute Naruto had to suffer.

"Unless you promise I'll live, you're not getting anything out of me!" Cocky grin. Big mistake.

"I warned you." Sand hissed from the former Shukaku vessel's gourd and moved slowly up its target. The man tried to escape, but the chair he was tied to wouldn't budge. The sand forced itself up his nose and in his mouth, and from there to his bloodstream. "Now, you can either die a long, agonizing death, or I can make it fairly quick and midly painful. The decision is yours."

"M-map! I-it's beh-hinde the wat-t-t-t-terfall u-u-under the l-lake!" the desperate man managed to croak through the pain.

"Good." Gaara effectively kept his cold exterior, though on the inside he was cheering. Not much longer, and Naruto would be back with his friends, where he belonged. "Now think about how much sooner this would've been over if you had cooperated with me as my sand soaks up your blood and clogs you airways. You'll be dead within the next seventy-two hours. And that was the slow death."

Gaara turned and walked out, cold to the widening eyes on his back. Thanks to Naruto, Gaara was now a fairly compassionate person, but ANYONE who hurt the friends he FINALLY managed to make had to pay dearly. He rushed up to his sister's room and knocked urgently.

"Come in!" Temari's voice called cheerily.

Gaara rushed in without hesitation. "I know where he is! Get Kankuro and meet me in my office! I'll grab a medic ninja! I have a really bad feeling about this!"

Temari got up and started to rush out, but stopped and squeezed Gaara's shoulder. "It'll be okay."

Temari was gone in a flash, and Gaara was quick to follow. After grabbing one of Suna's finest medical ninja, he headed to his office. Gaara pulled out the map from his desk drawer along with a pen. He searched around carefully until he found the waterfall, then he traced out the quickest rout to where Naruto was being held.

Gaara looked up at the slightly flustered medic. I wasn't every day you got suddenly called to accompany you Kazekage on an important A-rank mission. Do you have everything you may need? It's likely that Naruto will need medical attention when we find him." Gaara's eyes narrowed just a fraction. Only Temari and Kankuro could've noticed.

"Hai, Kazekage-sama!" She was bursting with pride.

"Good." Gaara stood, barely concealing his anxiety. Something just felt WRONG. "Let's not waste any more time, then."

Gaara led the way to the hide out, map in hand. The sand siblings plus one medic ninja stayed carefully alert, but the journey remained rather uneventful. Unfortunately, as uneasy as Gaara felt, it was a two to three day journey. Solemnly, the Kazekage halted his small rescue team at the small campsite they apprehended the enemy ninja at only that day.

After helping set up tents and getting a fire going, Gaara decided to look around some more. His heart clenched and anger bubbled in his chest as he came to a large tree. There were thick coils of rope wrapped around the trunk near the base. Six pieces went off to the sides, cut down the middle. There was more rope a little further down. There were bloody scratch marks on the tree. Gaara's mind filled with images of Naruto, an amazing shinobi to say the least, tied down and struggling, hopelessly trying to free himself. He must've been tied out here got God knows how long, rain or shine. Still, it was clear the brave ninja kept fighting. Gaara was disgusted with whoever had done this, and swore a painful death to anyone who showed his light-hearted friend contempt. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Naruto. Even after all the villagers did to him, he still strove to protect them.

Gaara sighed and walked over to his and Kankuro's tent, settling in next to his brother. Getting himself upset now when there was nothing he could do wouldn't help the situation. Now that Gaara could sleep, though he feared the wrath of his subconscious mind, he found himself at a loss without it. As hard us it was to calm down and give into sleep, he knew he had to, to be able to help Naruto. With that thought, the young ninja managed to coax his mind into sleep.

The first light of day found three jounin and one very anxious Kazekage eating a hurried breakfast. Gaara was barely eating, though. He took three little nibbles from his muffin, then just sat looking around nervously, waiting for the others to finish.

"Gaara." Temari said gently. "You need to eat. You need to be at your best to help Naruto, right?" Gaara hesitantly nodded, then scarfed down his muffin.

"S-stop! What are you d-doing to m-me?" Naruto whimpered weakly.

"You'll find out soon enough." the cool voice that had been tormenting him for what he perceived to be years called from the dark.

"I-I'll never betray my f-friends."

A sinister laugh resounded through the small room. The vile man stepped forward. Naruto's face was distorted with pain, but he refused to give this coward the pleasure of hearing him scream. "You're pathetic! For years, your entire village shunned you and abused you, yet now you fight for their sake! You're like an abused puppy that's too loyal to realize its master is corrupt!"

Naruto coughed. "L-like y-your any b-better."

They were standing in front of the waterfall now, and Kankuro noticed Gaara looked nervous. That's when her remembered water was the powerful Kage's weakness. He quickly unwrapped Ant and opened it. "Hop in, Gaara."

"What?" The redhead looked absolutely puzzled at his older brother's request.

"Ant is waterproof. It won't be able to get to your sand."

Gaara nodded and hesitantly sat in his brother's powerful weapon with his gourd in his lap. Gaara was touched. He knew Kankuro cared about him, but he never realized quite how much. "Thank you." he said as the jounin carefully sealed him inside.

Temari, Kankuro, and the medic ninja all mad it through the water fall, Gaara safely on his older brother's back, fairly easily. They weren't jounin for nothing. The real challenge was the lake.

Kankuro scratched his head. "How are we going to hold our breath long enough to get to the bottom of the middle of a lake? On top of that, how are we even going to get to the middle of the lake? We live in the middle of the freaking desert! We're not exactly renowned swimmers."

Temari frowned. "Also, how are we going to open the trap door?"

Medi sighed. "It looks like we'll have to get reinforcements from Naruto's village."

"Wait!" Gaara's voice was muffled, but it could still be heard through Ant. "I have an idea. I can still control sand from in here." With power only a Kage could posses, Gaara crushed the rocks around the cave into sand. Then he used that sand to make an even platform out to the middle of the lake. Then he crushed another small pile of sand.

"Temari, put an exploding tag in the center of that." His sister did as he asked. Then Gaara encased the exploding tag in sand and sent the ball down to the bottom of the trap door. "Alright, Temari! Set it off!"

"Kai!"

There was a muffled bang; Gaara had to shift the sand on their platform to stabilize it. "Alright. Getting down there is up to you guys. Holding your breath and sinking shouldn't be that hard. I'll come out when the water's gone." Annoyance was horrifyingly clear in the Kazekage's voice.

"Alright, Gaara! We're goin' in!" Kankuro and Gaara took the plunge, followed closely by Medi, and finally Temari.

Their rather conspicuous entrance didn't go unnoticed. The second the three (visible) ninja dropped down they were surrounded by five enemies.

"Just give up. You're outnumbered."

Kankuro had a defeated expression as he slowly raised his hands. Which turned into a smirk as his puppets came to life. Gaara, recognizing what was happening, leapt out at the enemies and sent out tiny sand tornadoes that worked well with his sister's wind strikes. Medi didn't do much. What? She was a healer! Not all medic ninja could be as epic as Tsunade...

Gaara straightened out his robes. 'Mental note: Cramped space = bad.' "Alright; let's go." Gaara turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Medi got nervous when three annoyed and impatient gazes met her increasingly wide eyes. "Umm... How do you know that's the correct path?"

"Because," Gaara explained calmly, "our opponent's eyes kept darting this way as we fought. Whether Naruto is down there or not, someone or something important is."

The sand siblings started cautiously down the hall with a blushing Medi following close behind.

When they heard a scream pierce the air, then give way to a strangled gurgling sound, all caution was thrown to the wind.

A tsunami of sand sent the door flying across the room followed by an enraged man with crimson hair and three jounin.

"Damn!" the man with the bloody kunai cursed under his breath. "Look." he taunted his victim, whose usually golden hair was matted down with blood. "Someone's finally come, and their not even from that pathetic village of yours. Just someone else come to hurt you more."

Gaara growled. "Don't listen to him, Naruto! It's us! Your friends."

Naruto's tormentor made a few more lightening-quick hand signs and touched Naruto's forehead, then disappeared just before Gaara could grab him.

The Kazekage came out of his blind rage and turned to his friend. Gaara's sharp intake of breath drew the attention of the other functioning ninja. "Oh God, Naruto." He whispered as he took in the other boy's appearance. The blue eyes that were usually full of happiness and a love for life were now dull and lifeless. His clothes were in tatters, and his body was covered in fresh and dried on blood, and the few visible patches of skin were bruised black and deep purple. He was tied down to a burning hot table, you cold tell from his blistering back, surrounded by candles. The table had strange seals carved into it, which were even more prominent now that they were filled with rivers of blood flowing from Naruto's slit wrists and throat.

"Medi! Get over here!" Gaara commanded.

The small kunoichi nodded and began treating Naruto's wounds. When he was safe to transport, the Kazekage gently lifted his friend. Dead blue eyes met concerned sea-foam colored ones. "Gaara?" the blond murmured weakly, before passing out.


	8. Chapter 8

*SPAAAAAAAAAAZZZZ!* I couldn't possibly be happier right now! I jumped from thirteen reviews to the all mighty twenty! Thanks so much for the epic reviews of epicness!

Dedication: To everyone who reviewed the last chapter! You all rock!

Disclaimer: I DO OWN NARUTO, FOR I AM KISHIMOTO IN DESCISE! *Lawyers with shiny black suitcases pop up again.* Hehehe... I have been ordered to notify you that I do not own Naruto and am not Kishimoto-sensei, but I let my sarcasm make me claim the obviously false. On a personal note, these lawyers have no sense of humor, and I'm starting to doubt that they ACTUALLY work for Kishimoto-sensei.

'Ow. My...Well my everything hurts, I guess.' He dared to open his eyes and all pain was immediately forgotten. He was in a blindingly white room surrounded by strange people. One woman was leaning over him with a needle, preparing to stab him in the arm with it. He punched her in the stomach and jumped up, only to find he couldn't stand.

"Ah!" he yelled, clutching his leg.

A man with hair the color of blood lifted him up. "It's okay. No one's going to hurt you. You're back with your friends, where you belong."

'Like hell I'm safe!' he thought. 'If these people were my friends, I'd know who they are!' He started struggling, but the red haired man's grip stayed strong.

Sea foam eyes narrowed in what appeared to be confusion, but he didn't buy it. "Calm down. It's me. It's Gaara. I won't let him near you again."

He felt himself be placed back on the bed. He tried to run away again, but that strange, intimidating man held him down. "What do you want from me?"

Gaara sighed in frustration. "I want you to lay there and rest so you can get better. Now wait here a minute, okay? He glared, and Gaara figured that was the only response he'd get. "Come." The doctors and nurses followed obediently.

"Alright." Gaara wanted answers, and he wanted them NOW. "I can understand being confused and afraid when he first woke up," Gaara glanced at Naruto through the window, "but why does he still look like he's going to bolt any second?"

"Well, Kazekage-sama," the doctor began, "when a person undergoes a traumatic experience, their mind wants to block it out. It's unlikely that he would forget his life before hand, but it's highly possible. I believe this young man has amnesia. It could take days, or it could take years, but he will most likely regain all his memories prior to the incident."

"Likely?" Gaara didn't like the sound of this.

The doctor was getting nervous. "Well, there IS a one in a million chance he will never regain his memories."

The Kazekage allowed himself an exhausted sigh. "Naruto... Just this once you better be ordinary."

He looked up as the door clicked open, and the man, Gaara, walked in, alone this time. "Why am I here?"

Gaara met his question with a level and patient gaze. "What's you name?"

"My name is..." The furious blond stopped in his tracks. "You're the one claiming to be my friend. Shouldn't you know my name already?"

The Kazekage remained patient, remembering that in his current condition, Naruto didn't know him from some random person on the street. "That's not the point right now. Just tell me what your name is."

Defiant blue eyes stared up at Gaara from the hospital bed. "Why should I? I know my name, but I don't know you. In my mind, that means we that means we don't know each other."

Gaara closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was obvious to Gaara that Naruto had amnesia if he couldn't remember him, but how would he get his stubborn friend to realize it? Gaara's eyes snapped open. "Alright. I'll make a deal with you. If you let them finish taking care of you, I'll take you to a place I can prove what I'm saying is true. In case you haven't noticed, you're covered in dried on blood."

Naruto looked at Gaara with suspicion. "How do I know you weren't the one to cause it?"

Gaara tried not to be hurt by that. He knew Naruto honestly couldn't remember their close friendship, but the words still left a deep gash in his heart. "I will never hurt you. You are my closest friend. Please, just think about if you actually know the answer to this question: What is your name?"

Naruto couldn't doubt Gaara's sincerity. He sounded so hurt that he could even THINK Gaara was one who hurt him, so he thought hard, trying to dig out a name, and finally answered, voice laden with sorrow, "I can't remember."

Gaara's stance relaxed as his friend realized the truth. "Your name is Uzumaki Naruto. You're a great shinobi of Konoha, and a great friend. I firmly believe you will become the Hokage one day."

Naruto smiled, not one of his earth-shattering grins, but a simple smile. "I can't remember what that is, but I can't help feeling like I should be thanking you."

Gaara gave a faint, barely visible smile. "No, Naruto. It is I who should be thanking you." Gaara walked over to the door. "We can talk later. For now, you need to let someone finish taking care of you."

"Wait!" Naruto looked nervous. "Why can't I remember anything?"

Gaara sighed. "I'll explain everything later. You need to get looked at now." He opened the door and let the medics back in.

Naruto looked up at one of the nurses and scratched the back of his head nervously. Gaara was glad to see he still retained some of his old habits. "Sorry I hit you."

She smiled at him. "It's quite alright, Naruto-sama. You were scared and confused. Now, we found heavy toxins in your system, and you need to let me neutralize them."

Naruto gulped down the lump in his throat. He tensed up and just stared at the needle.

"Are you okay?" Gaara asked.

"Ya. I'm fine." Naruto's voice was strained.

"I..." Naruto paused, looking slightly embarrassed, but more afraid. "Something about that," he pointed to the needle, "seems familiar, and bad."

Gaara's calm mask turned into an expression of sympathy. "I promise that needle contains nothing bad. The worst it will do is pinch for a minute."

Naruto nodded hesitantly, and the needle was pushed into his arm. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but he noticed the haziness in his vision subside, and the nausea fade away.

"Alright." the doctor said. "You can leave now. Just be sure to shower and bandage any open wounds. Here." The doctor handed him a pair of crutches. "Your right leg is broken. These will help you walk."

Naruto nodded and stood shakily on the crutches.

Naruto turned to Gaara once they were out of the hospital. "So... Where do I live?" The blond felt blond in a whole other sense when he had to ask that question.

"You live in another village called Konoha, but our villages became allies thanks to your actions. You will be staying with me for the time being." Gaara explained.

Naruto looked down. "Sorry for imposing."

Gaara facepalmed. "Naruto, you are under no circumstances imposing. You've done the same for me on several occasions."

Naruto sensed Gaara's frustration. "Got it. Sorry."

The blond's companion held him with his gaze. "Stop apologizing. It's not your fault that you can't remember anything."

Naruto nodded, and they walked/hobbled the rest of the way to Gaara's home.

"Temari! Kankuro! I'm Home! I brought Naruto!" Gaara yelled.

"Uh... Who are they?" the ever-confused blond asked.

"Temari and Kankuro are my older sister and brother."

"Gaara! Naruto! How are you feeling?" a blonde girl with four pigtails who Naruto assumed was Temari asked.

"I'm fine." Naruto assured her, backing up a little and ending up hitting the door. "Just really, really confused. Oh, my leg's broken, too, but I'll be alright."

A man, presumably Kankuro, wearing a hat with cat ears leaned against the wall. "What is there to be confused about? We kicked ass and saved you!"

Naruto pushed against the door more. Luckily, Gaara noticed. "Naruto has amnesia. He can't remember anything about his life."

Temari looked at the blond boy with worried eyes. "Nothing at all?"

"Everything's a blank." the teen confirmed.

"Alright, Naruto." The Kazekage said as he walked forward. "The bathroom's this way."

When they reached the bathroom Gaara explained how to do everything and gave Naruto a plastic bag to cover his cast. Seeing the ghost of fear still in his friend's eyes, he left him with three words, "You are safe."

Naruto carefully washed away the blood and dirt caked on his body as not to agitate his abundance of wounds. Once that was taken care of, he started scrubbing his scalp, only to find he was cut there, too. After rinsing the shampoo out and MUCH more carefully applying the conditioner, he started thinking; a dangerous pass time for everyone. What happened to him? Even with his lack of knowledge, Naruto was fairly sure people didn't just wake up covered in cuts and bruises with no memory whatsoever for no reason. Naruto sighed and hobbled out of the shower, drying off carefully. Once he was finished with that, he pulled out the first aid kit, treated the wounds on his legs, and pulled on the pants Gaara gave him. Then Naruto turned to the mirror to more easily treat his midsection, running a hand through his hair, and froze.

Gaara was getting nervous. The water had stopped about an hour-and-a-half ago, yet Naruto still hadn't come out of the bathroom. Temari assured him that it was simply difficult to treat your own wounds, especially with a broken leg, but he had the undeniable feeling that something was wrong. Another half-hour passed, and the Kazekage decided to check on his best friend.

Gaara knocked softly yet firmly on the bathroom door. "Naruto, are you okay?" No answer. More knocking. "Naruto?" Silence. Gaara carefully opened the door to make sure he didn't hit Naruto. Gaara saw his friend standing there, eyes wide with confusion and sadness. Gaara didn't have to look far to see why.

Naruto's reflection was removed as the door opened, and was replaced with Gaara. The blond watched as his friend, who he still considered to be very intimidating, shifted quickly from slightly concerned, to very concerned, to enraged.

Gaara saw Naruto standing there, covered in raised purple scars. They repeated years of verbal abuse both Jinchuriki and ex-Jinchuriki were forced to endure. And his forehead, which was covered by the unruly spikes of hair before was now revealed. One word was carved there: SLAVE. Gaara was outraged.

Gaara looked like he was REALLY mad. Naruto staggered back. 'What did I do?' He fell back hard into the wall, agitating his wounds. Gaara walked forward, raising his hand. Naruto scrunched his eyes shut and curled into himself, waiting for the blow.

Gaara watched Naruto as rage bubbled inside him. It was impossible that the bubbly blond was a monster; the real monster was the person who caused the wounds all over Naruto, and Gaara would make him pay. The Kazekage stepped forward to make sure his friend was okay, and was shocked as Naruto staggered back into the wall. Gaara held out his hand to help Naruto up, only to see his friend curl in on himself and scrunch his eyes up. 'Does he think that I'm going to hit him?' Gaara felt even more anger if that was possible.

Naruto waited. 'Can't he get it over with?' The blond felt a hand on his shoulder and scrunched up more. 'Here it comes.'

"Naruto, I thought I made it clear to you that I would not hurt you."

Naruto opened his eyes and hesitantly peered up at Gaara. "Y-you seemed mad at me. I know what you said, but... I don't know. It just felt like... Like something BAD was goanna happen. Then, when you raised your hand, something in the back of my mind started screaming that you were goanna hit me."

Fury once again flashed through Gaara's eyes. Naruto's eyes widened in fear, and his muscles tensed, but he managed to stay still. Gaara sighed. "It's not you I'm mad at, Naruto. It's the people who did this to you."

The blond was shaking. As hard as he tried, he couldn't steady himself. "I'm sorry."

Gaara was shocked. "What could you possibly have to be apologizing for?"

"I don't know. I just feel like I should. You said we were friends. It can't be the best feeling to have me afraid of you."

Gaara helped Naruto up. "Don't worry about it. None of this is your fault. We need to take care of your wounds. They're bleeding again." Gaara took out a cloth and cleaned the cuts, then he wrapped them tightly. "We may have to change those later, but you should be alright for a while."

"Thanks, Gaara!" A bit of the hyperactive blond we all know and love shone through, but then he remembered his wonderings from earlier. "What happened to me? I'm sure you don't just wake up in a hospital with no memory, even if that's what it seems like."

The Kazekage looked slightly pained. "You were kidnapped by a rouge group called the Wandering Ninja. We still have no clue what they wanted. I regret the leader's getting away, but it was either let him go, or let you die."

That information weighed heavily on the Kyuubi container. "I guess I should thank you again, then. I owe you my life."

"No, Naruto. That doesn't even begin to make us even with all you've done for me."

"Wow." Blue eyes stared into pale green, awed. "I really wish I could remember my own life. It sounds pretty interesting."

"Indeed it is. Why don't you come eat dinner?" Gaara looked Naruto over again and frowned. He could see the outline of his ribs and spine. "It doesn't look like they gave you much to eat."

Naruto pulled on his shirt. "How long was I gone?"

"A little over two months. Your sensei's and some of your friends from your village will be coming tomorrow. We'll fill you in on what happened then." Naruto nodded and was led out of the bathroom.

"There you are!" Temari lightly hugged Naruto, careful not to hurt him. "We were getting worried about you!"

"Heh heh. Sorry. I just had a little trouble figuring our how to do everything. Temari patted his back sympathetically, then hugged Gaara as well.

"Come on!" Kankuro pulled out the chair next to him. "Have a seat! You probably don't remember, but you love Temari's cooking."

Naruto crutched over. "Thanks."

He tried to sit, but it was kind of awkward with the crutches, and he up falling backwards, only to be caught by Kankuro. "You okay?" He asked as he lowered the blond to the chair.

"Ya. Sorry." he replied nervously.

Gaara's eye twitched. "Naruto, stop apologizing for things you can't control, and calm down. You have no reason to apologize right now."

Naruto nodded. "Sor- oops."

Gaara shook his head and took the seat on Naruto's other side. Temari brought out the food. "Alright, boys! Dig in!"

After a delicious meal complements of Temari, Gaara showed Naruto to the room he was staying in. "Get some rest." the Kazekage commanded. "I doubt you've slept much recently." After making sure the blond was okay, though Gaara wasn't completely sure he was being honest with him, he left the Jinchuriki with his thoughts.

The red head plopped down on the couch between his siblings. "I wish he would stop apologizing! If anyone should be apologizing it's me! I should've found him sooner. He didn't leave me with the Akatski for that long! TWO MONTHS!"

"Gaara." Kankuro squeezed his brother's shoulder. "Calm down. You hardly rested for that entire two months. If you could've found him sooner, you would've."

"But you didn't see what they did to him! Do you know how I found him?" At his siblings' questioning glances he continued. "I found him frozen, staring at his reflection in shock. He has horrible purple scars along his chest and shoulders calling him demon, and monster, and Kyuubi. There's another along his clearly visible ribs calling him a killer. Worse than that, they carved the word slave into his forehead. Then, when I started walking towards him, he staggered back and fell into the wall. When I reached out my hand to help him up, he curled in on himself and waited for me to hit him."

"Oh, Gaara." Temari hugged her little brother. "That must've killed you." Her tone darkened. "And Naruto. No wonder he has amnesia. To do that to someone so caring is unforgivable. When we catch the man responsible for this, I expect a death sentence."

"No problem there. I'll kill him myself."

Kankuro sighed. "I'm sure he forgot about the Kyuubi as well. Speaking of which, why hasn't it healed him?"

"I don't know." Gaara touched the love kanji on his forehead, a reminder of one of the more painful parts of hosting a demon. "Jiryia of the Sanin is going to investigate tomorrow. I highly doubt that they could, or would for that matter, kill the great Nine-tailed Fox, but it's an interesting prospect to consider."

Temari's brow furrowed in concentration. "Wouldn't that hurt Naruto? I mean, if you... You died when Shukaku was removed, isn't it possible that Naruto would feel some ill effects at the Kyuubi's death?"

Gaara rubbed his temples. "Honestly, I can't say. If Kyuubi is in fact dead, it would be the first time a biju ever met death. It could be that now Naruto simply doesn't have a tailed beast anymore, or some of the injuries he had now are a result of the death, but for now we don't know weather the Kyuubi is dead or not. There's no way to know anything for sure until tomorrow."

Temari sighed, standing up. "Well then, we might as well go to bed. Sitting here speculating isn't going to help anything."

Gaara nodded his agreement. "Goodnight, Temari, Kankuro. Tomorrow promises to be interesting.

Naruto lay in the unfamiliar bed in the unfamiliar house in the unfamiliar place, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling. He decided it was for the best that the place wasn't familiar; anything that felt familiar at all provoked fear. Even so, he couldn't sleep. On top of the pain of all his injuries, closing his eyes was unsettling, like he would regret it if his guard was down for the point five seconds it takes to blink. 'What the hell happened to me?'

As the hours ticked by, however Naruto's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. He could no longer resist the pull of sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

I want to apologize to everyone reading Unexpected News for the ridonculously long time it's been since I last updated. I actually have a pretty good reason. On top of school starting again, we got kicked out of my mom's house. My mom is living with my grandparents, and my brother and I are living with my dad and it's been a pretty big adjustment. When I was ready to get on top of it again, my computer broke. My dad's getting it fixed this weekend, so I should start up again soon. They definitely won't be as regular as during the summer, but I'll probably get at least a chapter out every month. Thanks for being patient and not yelling at me, guys. Dedication: To everyone who has ever reviewed this story. Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. If he was, we would apparently never have any new episodes.

Naruto lay in the unfamiliar bed in the unfamiliar room in the unfamiliar house in the unfamiliar place, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling. He decided it was for the best the place wasn't familiar; anything that felt familiar at all provoked fear. Even so, he couldn't sleep. On top of the pain of all his injuries, closing his eyes seemed unsettling, like he would regret it if his guard was down for the 300-400 milliseconds it takes to blink. 'What the hell happened to me?'

As the hours ticked by, however, Naruto's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. He could no longer resist the pull of sleep.

Gaara was a fairly light sleeper, the result of years with no sleep at all. This late night, or extremely early morning, depending on how you wanted to look at it, he awoke to the sound of screaming. It was coming from right across the hall. Naruto's room. Gaara dashed into the hallway, then the room, Temari and Kankuro right behind him.

When they entered, Naruto was flailing around in his sleep. "WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?"

The three ninja rushed over. Gaara and Kankuro grabbed Naruto to try and hold him down. He was opening his wounds again. "Naruto!" Gaara said, "Naruto, wake up!"

Blue eyes flew open, but their owners continued to panic. "STOP! STOP! LET ME GO! AHHH!"

Gaara made an extreme effort to calm down so he could calm down Naruto. "Naruto. It's okay. You're safe. It was only a nightmare. No one is going to hurt you. You're reopening your wounds again."

Naruto's breathing slowed as he took in his surroundings. The spark of fear gradually faded, and the brothers released him. Temari looked at the blood-stained sheets with a frown. "I'll go get the medical supplies."

The Jinchuriki started to sit up, only to fall back to the bed, clutching one of the deeper gashes in his side. Gaara frowned. "Don't try to sit up. We'll take care of everything. Let us close those back up first."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks."

Just then, Temari came back with the first-aid kit. Gaara once again cleaned and wrapped his friend's injuries. "What happened in your nightmare?"

The blond started shaking, and Gaara placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Everything was dark at first. We were moving, and I was tied up. It was really cramped. We finally stopped. I was dropped, then a man pulled me out of the box. He threw me to the middle of the room and four other guys did some sort of burrier jutsu. It hurt. They told me if I kept struggling I'd just get paralyzed, and I'd be no use to them. I asked them what they wanted with me, then you woke me up. I was still kind of dazed. I thought you were them."

Naruto was about to apologize, but he was stopped by the sand siblings' faces. Temari looked upset, Kankuro seemed frustrated, and Gaara was just plain pissed. "It seems like that was a little more than a nightmare. It seems like your memories may be returning in your sleep."

"Really?"

"Yes." Gaara's eyes narrowed. "There was one point right after you were taken where we thought we found you. It was in a small shack just a few miles out from Konoha. It looked like you were in the middle of the room in some sort of jutsu. It seemed like you were in agony. You begged me to break the jutsu, but as I reached out to you, you collapsed into a heap of dead squirrels. It turned out to be nothing more than a sick jutsu invented by a man who was both a sadist and a masochist."

Naruto shuddered. "In that case, I'm glad you woke me up before I remembered more."

Gaara's tone was bleak. "Do you think he did anything to you?"

The confused ninja looked down. "Who knows?"

Temari glanced at the clock beside the bed. "It's two am. What do you guys want to do?"

Kankuro looked at Naruto. He was still shaking slightly. "I think sleeping's out."

Gaara looked thoughtful. "The people from Leaf are coming around nine. We could start with a very early breakfast and see where it goes from there."

Temari nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll get cooking."

Kankuro stood up and stretched. "I'm goanna hit the bathroom. Meet you guys out there."

"Are you ready to go out now, Naruto?"

The blond gave a shaky nod. "Ya."

Gaara helped him up and gave him his crutches. "Are you alright?"

Naruto nodded. "I'm fine. That's not exactly a great way to wake up, though."

"Agreed." Gaara was not a fan of his own nightmare experience. "Sometimes reality is the greatest horror of all. You always had a way of making things end well, though."

Naruto followed Gaara out of the room. "Now if only I could remember how."

The two teens came out to the wonderful smell of chocolate chip pancakes. Temari finished setting the dining room table just as they came out. "You're just in time, guys! Breakfast is ready!"

Gaara went to take his seat. He was surprised when Naruto didn't follow. "Are you okay?"

The blond looked determined. "I'm trying to figure out how to sit. It didn't work so well yesterday."

Gaara sighed. "You know I'd be happy to help you, Naruto."

Said shinobi nodded. "I know. I just want to be able to do it myself."

With that Naruto hobbled over to the counter, and, holding on to it, abandoned his crutches. Then he hopped on one leg over to the table, where he fell back into his chair, which Gaara had pulled out for him, grinning in victory. The small group enjoyed a celebratory round of pancakes before they all went to the living room.

The four sat in silence for a while before Temari and Kankuro decided to get dressed. Naruto fidgeted a little, then looked towards the Kazekage. "Gaara?"

The red head looked up at his friend. "Ya, Naruto?"

"Could you... Could you tell me something I did before THIS happened?"

Gaara smiled. "Sure. What would you like to hear about?"

The Jinchuriki thought for a minute. "You said I was a ninja. Could you tell me about one of my missions?"

Gaara nodded. "Your most recent one that I know of was here in Suna. I was taken by Akatsuki. My options were let the village be blown up, or go with them. My brother came after me, only to be poisoned by a puppet master who had abandoned Suna years ago. Soon after, you and your team was called in. One of your teammates, Sakura, who's also a medical ninja, found a cure for the poison just in time. After that, your unit was dispatched to find me. When you did, I was already dead. You wouldn't give up on me, thought, Naruto. Even though it put you at great risk to do so, you fought to retrieve my body and won. When you got me back, you and Granny Chio used a forbidden jutsu to retrieve me. She died from it. She wouldn't've had enough chakra herself, but you gave her some of yours."

Naruto looked shocked. "I did all that?"

Gaara nodded. "You are a true friend."

Naruto grinned. "I could say the same to you. Now that I think about it, how did you find me?"

Anger flashed through the Kazekage's eyes, and it took all of Naruto's willpower not to flinch. "They didn't make it easy, that's for sure. The Wandering Ninja hired people outside of their organization to take you. These people were careful when bringing you to their employers. Only one person was left where you were kept to cast a distracting jutsu. They made sure that man knew nothing crucial. Their mistake was returning to their previous hideout, which he knew the location of. Your senseis, who are coming today, went to that hideout, apprehending one and killing the rest. The one they left alive spilled the location where they... Sold you. Unfortunately, he didn't know where the Wandering ninja operatives took you after. Meanwhile, I had a rumor circulating about a powerful jutsu of Suna. What you have to understand is the Wandering Ninja's ultimate goal: to become a ninja village. They go around stealing jutsu from real ninja. Once they tried to take over a minor town as a base, but you stopped them. Revenge was actually one of our earlier theories for motives, but you would've been dead long before I found you if that was the case. The point is, three members of the Wandering Ninja were at the camp sight they traded you off at on the way to Suna to steal the jutsu. I caught one of them, and he told us where you were being held. From there we simply had to follow a map. We were worried sick about you."

Naruto nodded, eyes downcast. "That sucks. Sorry."

Gaara stood and threw his hands in the air. "What the hell, Naruto?" The blond shinobi cringed deeper and deeper into the cough, arms raised to cover his face as the enraged Kazekage ranted. "I will never, in all my life, be sorry that I rescued you! And you shouldn't be either! Who knows what would've happened if I didn't? You were within an inch of your life when I finally found you! You would probably be dead by now!

Gaara took a deep breath, calming his raging temper. He looked over and winced at the sight of a balled up Naruto. The blond was trembling uncontrollably. 'Idiot!' Gaara chided himself. 'You saw him last night! It's not like this is his fault! You should know better than to lose your temper like that right now. You've completely Terrified him.'

"Naruto," Gaara began softly, "Naruto, look at me."

Naruto peered up, then took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself. "I know. I'd apologize for apologizing, but I don't think that would go over very well."

"I'M sorry, Naruto." Gaara sat down next to his trembling friend. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. I'm serious, though. We were worried about you because we care about you. Why would you apologize for that?"

The blond looked down, but he didn't respond. Gaara wished Naruto would talk to him, but he decided to give him some time. Besides, he could just sincerely not know. 'Hopefully once Naruto's back for a while, he'll open up again and start acting more like himself.'

At about six 'o clock, Gaara left to do his Kazekagely duties. Naruto went back to the room he was staying in and tried to remember something. ANYTHING! He thought back to his nightmare-memory thing and shuddered. Maybe not anything.

Naruto's thoughts shifted to Gaara. The teen had seemed pretty scary at first, but he seemed pretty nice now. The blond sighed, falling back to the bed. Everything was so confusing. Gaara knew him better than he knew himself. And to top it all off, he knew next to nothing about Gaara. Naruto couldn't help but wonder how they met if they were from different villages.

Gaara entered his tower happy for the first time in months. He wasn't smiling; Gaara didn't absently smile, but the worry was out of his eyes, and they were just a shade brighter. A young secretary ninja noticed. "Kazekage-sama! You seem to be doing better! You found him?"

Gaara nodded. "Finally."

"That's wonderful!" she beamed, brown eyes shining. "How's he doing?"

"Not wonderful, but he'll get better."

The girl smiled. "Well, good luck Kazekage-sama."

The Wind Shadow nodded. "Thank you, Ayume."

Gaara entered his office and started his paperwork, but even someone as epic as him can't help letting their mind wander with such a boring task. Inevitably, he started thinking about Naruto. He wouldn't push the blond to tell him anything, but it bothered him when he apologized for being saved; it was like he thought he did something wrong by needing help.

'I wonder...' Gaara's invisible eyebrows pulled together a miniscule, unnoticeable amount. 'Naruto's so adamant about protecting his precious people. Maybe it doesn't feel right to him to need to be protected.' That thought slightly aggravated the Kazekage. "He better get used to it, then.'

Gaara got home at eight, and Temari baked some nice, warm, gooey chocolate-chip cookies, and they had a snack to tide them over until lunch because of their extremely early breakfast.

The redhead sighed. Naruto's eyes were darting around, searching for danger. "Calm down, Naruto."

Naruto took a deep breath and nodded. "Right. So- Right."

Temari shook her head. "Calm down, Naruto. You'll get better faster if you relax."

Kankuro grinned. "Ya, shrimp! If that bastard shows up, we'll kick his ass!"

Gaara nodded. "He will not get within one hundred feet of you. If he so much as attempts to do so, I will personally rip him limb from limb." Naruto shuddered slightly, and Gaara mentally facepalmed. 'Come on. Gaara! You're supposed to be the Kazekage! No specific threat of violence until he's better!' "I'm sorry, Naruto. I need to be more careful what I say."

Just then Gaara heard a knock at the door. The Kazekage got up, and noticed how worried his friend was. "We'll be back in a while. Other people are going to be coming in, but you don't need to worry. They're your friends."

Naruto nodded and stayed sitting on the couch. He was still clearly apprehensive, but Gaara figured there wasn't much he could do about it and went to get their guests.

The party consisting of Kakashi, Jiryia, Iruka, Sakura, Lee, Neji, Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru, Choji, and Hinata bowed when Gaara opened the door. Iruka immediately stepped forward. "Kazekage-sama, I apologize for being so direct, but when may we see him?"

"You may see him right away, but we only want to send one person in at a time. Naruto's still very jumpy, and we don't want to overwhelm him." Gaara explained.

Iruka immediately ran past the Kazekage without a second thought, wanting to see his old student to make sure he was okay. The spikes-pony-tailed man saw the teen sitting on the couch and launched himself into a fierce hug, still trying to be careful with Naruto's injuries. Naruto yelled out and started struggling. "Who are you? Get off me! Help!"

Iruka pulled away, worry clear on his features. "Naruto? What's wrong? It's me. It's Iruka-sensei. Calm down."

The panic began to ebb. Naruto knew how ridiculous it had been; Gaara told him people would be coming, and that he didn't need to be afraid of them, but everything had been going too fast for the blond. "S-sorry. Gaara t-told me people would be coming, b-but I wasn't quite expecting that."

Iruka was shocked to hear Naruto stuttering like Hinata. "It's alright, Naruto. Just as long as you're safe."

Naruto sat and stared at the man. He had kind brown eyes, a spiky brown ponytail, and a scar across the bridge of his nose. He wore a very worried expression. Naruto knew he should remember him. But there was nothing. It was amazingly frustrating. His head fell into his hands.

Iruka was concerned. This was very un-Naruto-ish behavior. "Hey, are you alright? Does your head hurt?"

Naruto shook his head no. "I can't... I'm sorry. I know I should remember you, but I can't.

Iruka pulled back in shock. "Naruto, what are you talking about?"

The rest of the group burst in, having heard Naruto's cry for help. "What happened?" Gaara demanded.

Iruka's mother hen complex was in overdrive. He was frantically looking over Naruto's head, trying to find out what was wrong with him. "I don't know! I hugged him, and he started freaking out! Then he apologized, saying he just wasn't expecting it! Then his head fell into his hands and he apologized for not remembering me!"

Gaara's stance relaxed along with the rest of the group, though Naruto's apologizing for his lack of memory slightly aggravated the young Kage. "My apologies. I tried to warn you, but you were too anxious to see him. Naruto has amnesia. He can't remember anything about his life before this all started."

I solemn air descended over the room as the people from Konoha absorbed the information. Tears welled in Hinata's eyes. "Y-you m-m-mean?... H-he can't..."

"Remember any of us." Neji finished, goin to comfort his cousin.

Naruto finally looked up and saw all the people who had come. There was the man who came in first, a tall, muscular old man with long, white spiky hair, two red lines under his eyes and trailing down his cheeks, and a weird faceplate, a middle-aged man with gravity-defying silver hair, and a mask and headband that covered almost his entire face, a girl around his age with blue-green eyes and short pink hair, a boy around his age with a spiky brown pony tail, brown eyes, (Naruto made a mental not to ask if he and Iruka were related) and a lazy posture, though one eye was cocked in the blond's direction and held a bit of concern, another boy around his age with spiky brown hair, a little on the large side, munching on a bag of chips with a clearly worried expression, a boy with spiky brown hair that looked a lot like the blond's, a red triangle painted on each cheek, brown eyes, , and barely visible fangs. There was a large white and brown dog standing next to the boy and whimpering at Naruto. There was also a boy with a black bowl cut, creepy, round black eyes, with eyebrows that looked more like giant caterpillars sitting on his forehead, wearing a hideous green jumpsuit. There was also a boy with dark hair in a very loose pony tail, and entirely white eyes. He was comforting a girl with long indigo hair and pupil-less eyes with a lavender tint. Naruto figured they were related. She seemed to be on the brink of tears. For some reason, the blond felt bad seeing her cry. So, he took the next logical step. "Hey, it's alright. Don't cry."

Everyone gave Naruto their full attention now. Shikamaru even looked less bored. Hinata wiped her eyes and stood up straight. "I'm f-fine N-Naruto-kun. You don't n-need to worry about m-me."

Naruto gave a small smile. "As long as you're okay."

The mood in the room lightened, and soon enough everyone was smiling. Naruto was still, in fact, Naruto, if a bit more skittish than usual. Gaara chose that moment to speak. "Well everyone, as weird as it may seem, you might want to introduce yourselves to Naruto."

Sakura smiled. The situation bothered her, but she would be strong for her teammate. He finally needed her instead of the other way around. "Right." The pink-haired girl stepped forward. "I'm Haruno Sakura. We've been teammates since our first day as ninja, and we were in the same class in The Academy."

Fuzzy Brows stepped forward next. "I am Rock Lee! We met during The Chunin Exams. After seeing your immense skill and strength, I decided to make you my rival!"

The bored-looking boy cocked his head in Naruto's direction. "Name's Shikamaru. We went to The Academy together."

The rounder boy still munching on his bag of chips went next. "I'm Choji. We went to The Academy together too, Naruto."

The boy with the large dog grinned, showing off his huge canines. "I'm Kiba, and this is Akamaru." The large dog barked in affirmation. "We were, shocker, in your Academy class, and we've been on a few missions together, too.'

The boy with white eyes let go of the person Naruto figured was his little sister. "I am Hyuuga Neji. We met when you defeated me in the Chunin Exams."

The girl with pale lavender eyes cam forward as well. "M-my name's Hinata. We w-were in t-he A-akadam-my together."

Naruto's eyes pulled together in worry. "Are you sure you're okay? You're still stuttering."

Hinata blushed the color of Gaara's hair. Neji directed a very rare, on the endangered species list, genuine smile towards Naruto. "I assure you, she's fine. Hinata-sama is merely shy."

Naruto nodded. "Okay then."

Kakashi eye-smiled at his student. "Yo, Naruto. I'm Kakashi. I was your jounin sensei when you and Sakura here were still very young genin, but now the three of us make up an equal team. To be completely honest, you could probably beat me in a fight."

Jiryia started his Toad Sage Dance, but, noticing the look he was getting from Gaara, he stopped and just smiled at Naruto. "I'm Jiryia, one of the legendary sannin, and your sensei."

Gaara relaxed slightly. Jiryia was being fairly normal. Crisis averted.

Sakura took a tentative step forward. She had been sure Naruto would be found, but now it just seemed so fragile, like he would disappear again. That's when she took in all the bandages and the broken leg. Sakura snapped out of it immediately; if this was a dream he would be perfectly fine. "Naruto, I'm sure Gaara-sama brought you to the hospital, but I'd like to take a look if you don't mind. I'm a medic ninja."

Naruto smiled shyly and rubbed the back of his neck. "If you don't mind, Sakura-chan, I've had enough with being examined for now. I'm sorry."

Sakura beamed at him. "It's okay, Naruto. Don't worry about it."

The group of friends started talking, and Jiryia and Gaara silently left the living room.

"You've noticed?"

"Of course." Jiryia was completely serious now, not a hint of his usual goofy air left. "The Kyuubi should have healed him by now. Granted, broken bones take a little longer, but all the cuts should be gone at least."

"I know." Gaara's voice was just slightly higher in pitch. You'd need a dog's hearing to pick it up. "We think they did something to it, maybe even killed it if that's possible."

Jiryia sighed. "I'll have to take a look at the seal on his stomach."

Gaara nodded and looked back into the living room. Naruto's friends were animatedly telling him about the missions the missions they had been on together and what Konoha was like. Naruto was smiling, but he looked very tense; he was still nervous. It wouldn't be easy for him to allow Gaara to look at his stomach. The pair walked out just as Sakura finished telling him about their first meeting with Kakashi-sensei.

"You were so made that he was late." She was grinning at the memory. "You put an eraser on the door. I told you not to, but on the inside I was cheering you on. He fell for it when he got there."

Kakashi was shocked. "Sakura! You?"

The chunin giggled. "You had it coming, sensei."

The Copy Nin eye smiled. "I guess I did."

Gaara spoke up then. "I'm sorry to ruin the fun, but Naruto's been wanting an explanation. I thought it would be easiest to have you start from the beginning, Iruka-san."

Iruka nodded, the mood turning somber. "You had agreed to spend the day at The Academy with the kids, Naruto. About half way through the day, three strange men showed up. No one was particularly worried. They weren't exactly S-class criminals, and you're one of the strongest ninja in our entire village. You would've defeated them easily if one of them hadn't grabbed one of the children, a small girl in her first year at The Academy."

Naruto's face twisted into a mask of anger. "That's unforgivable! To use a little girl like that..."

Iruka nodded. "I know. You agreed to let them take you if they let her go. We couldn't pursue because the man who had grabbed her held onto her for a while to give them a head start, but we reported it to the Hokage right away."

Naruto looked up. "Is the little girl safe?" Iruka nodded. "Then this is all worth it." Everyone had a feeling, memory or no memory, that Naruto would say that.

Neji picked up the story from there. "Hokage-sama, who is very close with you, sent a letter to the Hidden Sand Village. Gaara-sama, Temari-sama, and Kankuro-sama arrived as fast as they could. We all met at the gate after receiving instructions. We split into teams. Tenten-chan, Lee-san, and myself made up one team. Kakashi-san, Sakura-san, and Shino-san, who was on another mission with Tenten so the two couldn't come today, made up the next. Gaara-sama, Temari-sama, and Kankuro-sama made up the third team. After a while, we believed we had found you. We signaled and went in to rescue you. It turned out to be a decoy."

It was Kakashi's turn to step in. "At the same exact time the others believed they found you, we did as well. We signaled and want in to get you back. It felt wrong not having you fighting with us. In the end, our adversaries were decoys as well."

Gaara continued. "At the same time, my siblings and I believed we had found you. We too signaled and went in after you. It was the shack I told you about earlier; the one in your dream. We captured the jutsu caster and met up with the other teams just outside Konoha."

"He had a dream about it?" Shikamaru asked. "Then he was actually in one of the shacks at one point?"

Naruto nodded. "I had the dream last night. Gaara thinks my memories are coming back while I'm asleep."

Shikamaru made his thinking sign. "Interesting."

"We returned to Sand and kept the search efforts going." Temari explained. "We didn't have much luck for a long time."

Gaara nodded. 'He knows pretty much all that happened after that."

Jiryia stood. "Naruto, Kazekage-sama, I need to talk to you alone for a minute." The three of them went out to the kitchen, where the delicious scent of chocolate chip cookies still lingered. "Naruto, you are the Jinchuriki for the nine-tailed demon fox. That mean's it's been sealed inside you. I want to make one thing clear to you. You are not the demon fox. You merely keep it under control. That being said, you usually gain accelerated healing abilities from your Jinchuriki status. The fact that you still have this many injuries is unsettling. I need to take a look at the seal on your stomach."

Naruto put a hand to his stomach. If he took off his shirt the scars would be visible again. "Are you sure this is absolutely necessary?" Jiryia and Gaara nodded simultaneously. Naruto lifted his shirt off hesitantly, then remembered something: the bandages were covering the scars. His reprieve didn't last long, though.

You'll need to take off the bandages, Naruto, or I can't see the seal."

Naruto ever so slowly began removing the seal, but Gaara, believing the blond was simply having trouble, took the bandages and unwrapped them for him. Our poor shinobi was too nervous to protest.

Jiryia started shaking with rage. "How DARE they?" he thundered.

Gaara gritted his teeth. "I know." Naruto just stood there and looked ashamed.

Jiryia took a deep breath to calm himself. Then he reached out a hand to Naruto's stomach and sent chakra to the seal. The Jinchuriki watched in awe as it appeared. "There's a slight alteration, but it's barely there. As much as I hate to say it, I'll need Neji to look at the chakra flow. I'll go talk to him."

Jiryia went and pulled Neji into the hall. "Is something wrong, Jiryia-sama."

"What I'm about to tell you is extremely important, Neji, and I need you to listen all the way through before saying anything."

Neji nodded, understanding how important this was. "Yes sir."

"Good. What I'm about to tell you very few people know, and you are forbidden to tell anyone. Naruto is the Kyuubi no Jinchuriki. I want you to listen very carefully to this. Under no circumstances does that mean Naruto is the Kyuubi. He is not. He does get accelerated healing, though, meaning something is wrong, and I need your eyes to find out what it is."

Neji looked thoughtful. "That would explain what I saw during the Chunin Exams. Who else knows?"

"The adults who were alive at the time, though they typically assume he's the demon incarnate. Sakura might have an idea as well from being on his team for so many years, but I don't believe she knows for sure. If it wasn't for dire circumstances, it would be his business weather to tell you or not too."

"One thing troubles me." If Neji wasn't a hardened Hyuuga, he would've looked hurt. "Why didn't he tell any of us?"

The Toad Sage sighed. "As much as he trust and cares about each and every one of you, he's had a difficult past. He was alone for most of his life, shunned by the village as the demon itself, and he still has no clue who his parents are. He's afraid of the past he's fought so hard to hard to escape catching up to him, and casting him once again into the hell called loneliness."

It still hurt a little, but Neji could understand that. "Okay. Let's go help Naruto."

Naruto looked nervous upon their return. Neji was quick to attack any doubts he might have. "Naruto, I know this probably doesn't mean quite as much without your memory, but I know you're not the demon. It isn't as if you volunteered for this as an infant, it was forced on you."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks, Neji."

Neji smiled back. "Now, I'm going to use a Kekkei Genkai to see what's disrupting the Kyuubi's chakra. It looks a little weird, but it's perfectly fine. Byakugan!" Neji's eyes brightened a bit, and the veins around them popped out, while a yin yang symbol only he could see appeared beneath his feet. "The Kyuubi's chakra is being blocked more so than usual by an alteration to the seal. Oddly enough, Naruto's chakra is being blocked as well. There are chains of foreign chakra wrapped around throughout his system. They can only be undone by the person who did them. Until we find the leader of the Wandering Ninja, Naruto will be unable to use jutsu." Neji deactivated his Byakugan and saw Naruto's unwanted tattoos for the first time. His voice was strained. "And we better find him soon, because he's inhuman." Gaara and Jiryia nodded in agreement, and they went back out to rejoin their friends.

Neji sat down next to Hinata. "What did they want, Neji-ni-san?"

Neji frowned at his cousin. He hated lying to her. "They cast a jutsu on Naruto right before he was rescued. He's unable to use jutsu until we catch the man responsible."

Kakashi decided to lighten the mood a little. "Oi, Naruto, I brought your hata-atai and some clothes for you. I put your clothes in your temporary room, but I have your hata-atai right here. You lost it when they took you, but you're never seen without it. I found it when we went to get the scum who took you from out village, and I picked it up."

Iruka tied it on for him. "This kind of reminds me of when I gave it to you when you first graduated. You had asked me the day before if you could wear mine, but I wouldn't let you because you weren't a ninja yet. When you graduated, I had you close your eyes, and I took off my hata-atai and tied it around your forehead. It was yours from that day on. The cloth's different now, but the metal's the same."

Sakura, tying to keep the lighter mood going, decided to pose a question. "Alright, everyone, what's the stupidest, silliest thing you've ever done?"

Surprisingly enough, Gaara started. "Just after the first time I was sick, so after Shukaku was removed, I decided you weren't allowed to eat anything good while you were sick, and I literally fought Kankuro for the last cookie. I plead temporary insanity from the illness."

Everyone, even Naruto, laughed, and Kankuro grinned. "I fought back!"

Sakura giggled. "Who won?"

Gaara, really getting into it, grinned. "I'm not the Kazekage for nothing!"

Kakashi decided to tease his students a little. "The stupidest thing I ever did was become a jounin sensei."

That earned him a light punch in the arm from Sakura. "The stupidest thing you ever did is what you always do: make up ridiculous excuses for why you're late!"

Kakashi eye smiled. "Hey, hey, you didn't let me finish. It's also the best thing I ever did."

Sakura beamed at him, and Naruto smiled a little too. The day continues like that until it was time for everyone to go to bed. When they were alone again Kankuro asked Gaara why he was so open and expressive all day.

Gaara smiled. "It's not that often that I get to just hang out with my friends. Usually if we're all together like this it's a crisis. Now Naruto's back and it's a celebration. I wanted to enjoy it.

Kankuro smiled to himself on the way to his bedroom. His baby brother fanally got to be happy.


End file.
